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by SimplyKorra



Series: The Death of Destiny [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Future Fic, Post Volume 3, Sequel to Run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7498452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyKorra/pseuds/SimplyKorra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With no safe haven left, team RWBY wander Remnant in hopes of finding help and finding peace as the world continues to crumble and they struggle to find the strength to fight their enemies as well as their own demons. Sequel to Run</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pyrrha Nikos

**Author's Note:**

> So here we are again! This took me a lot longer then I anticipated to get going but it finally is and hopefully it's worth the wait. A few things - I have struggled with this at first so instead of updating every Tuesday and Friday, we're only going to update on Fridays to give me a little more time to plan and write and keep this thing going. Secondly, the POVs are going to jump around more in this, not the set POV order like Run had. This will be a little more free to help tell the story
> 
> Plus we'll be meeting a few new POVs and this first chapter will introduce a new one now.
> 
> Thank you for the support on Run and I hope you enjoy this one. Follow pyrrhafuckingnikos on tumblr for updates and lots of other RWBY related things :)

The worst thing about not sleeping, was how long and boring the nights were.

Pyrrha couldn't begin to explain why her body didn't require sleep or food or water—it was just how she functioned now. She never felt fatigue, how could she after never stopping for five years?

It was more evidence to the fact that she was no longer human. Though she didn't know exactly what she was anymore, she was doing everything she could not to be a monster.

It was hard, and the nights were extra tough because the quiet only made her mind race more. Jaune would try, bless his heart, to stay awake and talk to her, but eventually he would fade and she would tell him it was okay—that she'd be fine.

Then the night would drag on and Pyrrha would stand watch, as she always did—waiting for more violence to come their way.

Despite the threat at the time, it had been two months since they left the Atlas military base and there was no sign of Weiss' father or anyone else coming for them.

There were nine of them now that Qrow and Taiyang had left to try and seek help from some of their old friends. They seemed to believe they could recruit some of Beacon's former staff members to assist in whatever Pyrrha knew was coming.

All of this, the hiding and separation and their constant need to run was because of Pyrrha. Because she knew that this quiet would not last. She couldn't rightly explain how she knew, just that a voice in the back of her mind told her every single day that they were not safe. That Salem was coming and would bring all of her might with her.

Pyrrha's memories of Salem were broken and foggy—she remembered pain and suffering. It hurt to think back to her time after she was shot on the tower of Beacon. Death was such a calming experience and when it took her, she felt safe.

However, when she woke up in that strange place – wondering if it were the afterlife, she was met with sharp burns across her back and words spoken to break her.

At some point, through all of it, her body detached from her soul and she was lost. The visions of killing and tormenting faces she didn't recognize were vivid, but feeling that pain and understanding what she'd done only returned when Jaune came to her in the cell.

She wasn't sure if she should even be here now, in this fancy hotel that they'd rented five rooms out of with the Schnee's money – she didn't know if it was right. After they ran and came to Winter, she and Weiss each withdrew generous amounts of their father's money before destroying their scrolls and promising to cut ties with the man. Once Winter heard that Weiss' father had struck her and that General Ironwood had handed over authority to him, Winter wanted no part of any of it.

Pyrrha knew it was too simple, you couldn't really cut off people like that—eventually they would have to confront it.

But if Pyrrha could sit in this high end hotel room, staring through the drape covered window and pretending that she was still human—then they could do whatever they wanted.

Turning back, she took in the sight of Jaune sleeping on the bed. They shared a room but since Pyrrha never slept it was pretty simple. She would sit up all through the night and be as quiet as possible so he could sleep. Jaune tried much too hard for her. Pyrrha loved and hated it. She hated how it made her feel, so worthless and unworthy. She was a murderer and a monster, she didn't deserve the attention and care he gave her. Yet, at the same time, it was all she had left to look forward to, so when the guilt wasn't killing her, she let him care and enjoyed it.

Watching him sleep tapped into the human side of her so strongly she almost felt she could overcome whatever curse was inside of her. It made her think she could crawl into bed with him, lie down and maybe fall asleep. If anything, just lay her head against him and pretend they were back at Beacon, sharing a bed and preparing for the next day of classes.

She'd spent so many nights wishing she were in his arms—now she wished she could go back and be seventeen again. Wistfully crushing on the boy she'd met who made her feel special.

Thoughts of Beacon brought her back to why they were at this hotel room. It was the last hotel they could find before sending Blake and Yang out to find the rest of her team.

To say Pyrrha was nervous about seeing Ren and Nora again would be a _massive_ understatement.

Mostly, everyone on Team RWBY and Jaune had accepted her. Sun and Neptune were distant but respected everyone enough not to say anything. Nora and Ren though—they were like family and Pyrrha _wanted_ them to accept her. She would understand if they didn't, she certainly wasn't the girl they remembered, but they were her teammates. She loved them.

_You still love them, you're not dead._

Reminding herself she really did still exist was a constant for Pyrrha. On nights like this, when the rest of the world slept and she waited in silence, she felt extremely disconnected.

One thing her new existence didn't prevent her from was melting in the heat of this part of Remnant. Even at this hour it was scorching hot and she really needed to turn the air conditioning up.

Just as she stood to do that, a flash of something outside caught her attention and her nerves sparked.

She didn't have a weapon of her own but Jaune allowed her to use his sword and she reached for it before staring out the window again. The parking lot was always quiet, just the coming and going of vehicles that Pyrrha had memorized. Between Winter and Blake they were able to scout the entire area and determine that the strangers staying here were just that, strangers—no one they knew and nobody who could be a threat.

Still, it was far too late for anyone to be wandering and Pyrrha knew she saw something dart behind one of their cars and she quietly exited the room and raced down the halls to investigate.

If the heat on the inside was bad, the heat outside was even worse. It was thick and heavy, like a fog of hot gas that settled into her skin. She was thankful for the small shorts she was wearing and the tank top Winter had loaned her. Pyrrha didn't have any clothes but she could fit into Winter's well enough.

Physically, she hated her legs—they were covered in black veins and looked grotesque, but it was just too hot and Jaune had convinced her to wear the shorts. She remembered how adamant he was that it was okay—that her legs didn't bother anyone.

He spoke so strongly that she almost believed him. He was good at that, making her believe in herself. Perhaps one of these times, it would stick with her longer than a few passing moments.

She stalked through the silent parking lot towards the bright red car that sat on the other side where she'd seen the flash. She might not believe in herself being normal, but she believed in her ability to fight and she was ready to destroy anything that threatened these people who'd given her another chance.

She was careful with her footsteps, not wanting to make too much noise as she twisted the sword in her hand and settled the blade behind her for a prepared backslash.

Any movement had stopped, whatever she was chasing had stilled. The only thing she noted was a bird perched on the sign of the motel above her. It was a red eyed raven cawing at the moon that hung in the air. The sound was distant—Pyrrha shook it from her mind and prepared to strike.

With a leap, she rounded the car and froze at what she saw. It was no enemy—it was Ruby and she was sitting on the concrete with her knees curled to her chest and her face buried between them.

Pyrrha froze and felt a strange prickling in the back of her mind. It was pushing against her brain, trying to overtake her and telling her that she could drag Ruby away. This was her mission for five years—to take this girl she'd met at Beacon and bring her back to Salem. For what? Pyrrha didn't know, but she could only imagine it was something awful. All she'd ever been told was that Ruby needed to be confined. That she was dangerous.

Though if Ruby was dangerous to Salem, that didn't make her a threat, it made her a weapon.

Even if that weapon was currently crying on the sidewalk outside of a hotel.

"Oh," Ruby sniffled and seemed concerned when she noticed Pyrrha standing, sword drawn, in the middle of the night. "Pyrrha I—"

Immediately, Pyrrha dropped the sword on the ground. "I didn't know it was you, Ruby. I apologize."

Ruby frowned. "You don't need to apologize." She wiped at her red eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong." Pyrrha wasn't sure how to respond to that. Every moment she spent near Ruby felt wrong. She didn't belong this close to her, not when she knew so much and had so many voices screaming at her to do her job and take Ruby away. "I forgot that you don't really sleep anymore." Ruby made no effort to stand up, instead resting her head back against the brick wall. "I know the feeling."

She didn't, but Pyrrha understood what Ruby was trying to say. She'd been having trouble sleeping ever since they left the base and Pyrrha imagined it was happening well before that. Ruby was suffering and Pyrrha saw her struggle every day. She knew what it was like to pretend you were okay when you weren't.

"Weiss will be looking for you." Pyrrha said, feeling like she needed to say something.

Ruby smiled at the mention of Weiss' name but shook her head regardless. "She was snoring when I left—it's actually the cutest sound in the world and she'd be so mad if she knew that. I'll slip back in before she notices."

The silence was uncomfortable and Pyrrha couldn't just leave—she had to try. "Why did you leave?" Ruby looked up at her miserably and Pyrrha waved her off. "You don't have to tell me." _Why would you want to? I can't help you._

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that it's so—I don't know how to explain it."

Pyrrha frowned. "I—I'll listen if you want me to. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You're not," Ruby sighed and patted the spot next to her. Pyrrha balked at first, unsure if it would be so simple as to just sit down next to this girl she'd hunted for years. While she couldn't stop herself from hunting Ruby across the entirety of Remnant, she also remembered every bit of it. Even now, she could remember the feeling of need she had to capture her. It was a burning desire, stronger than any she'd ever known. It was her mission, her duty to take Ruby to her leader at any cost. A cost she would pay for for the rest of her life.

Whatever her life was now.

She knew it would be rude to refuse, so Pyrrha rested against the building and slid to the ground. She maintained a bit of distance between herself and Ruby but it was close enough that Ruby seemed satisfied.

"I've been here before; you know?" Ruby spoke softly—as if she were being very careful with every word she spoke.

"This hotel?"

Ruby shook her head. "This conversation. You and me—together again talking. You used to come to me a lot in my dreams."

"Oh," Pyrrha wasn't expecting that.

"I would ask you if you were mad at me and you'd always say you weren't…which only made me feel worse. I wanted you to be mad at me, I wanted you to hate me. The more you showed up, the more I wanted it. Eventually…I wanted everyone to hate me."

The confession was taking a toll on Ruby, who had started to cry again and furiously wiped away the evidence.

Pyrrha was still trying to process. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because I wasn't fast enough. I—I just stood there and I watched you die. I should have done more."

Images of that day still haunted Pyrrha. The life she'd had; the girl she'd been was all lost on that tower. It was a fight she never should have been in—one she never could have won. Still, back then Pyrrha Nikos couldn't stand by and do nothing. She _had_ to try, it was in her nature to give her best.

Unfortunately, her best on that day had no chance of being enough.

"Ruby, I don't blame you. I'm not mad at you for that."

"I know," Ruby smiled sadly. "I wanted you to be though. When I found out it was you hunting me, I hoped that was why. That _you_ had come after me and that _you_ wanted me to pay for it. I wanted you to kill me."

Pyrrha felt oddly protective. She wanted to reach out and hug Ruby—comfort her in some way. But she couldn't, it wasn't her place and she was not fit to. "You wanted to die?"

She hoped to hear a firm dismissal of the question—instead she was given a shrug. "I didn't want to, but I had days where I thought it might be easier. Y—you were relentless. I lost a lot of sleep running from you or…well…not you…whatever you had become."

"It was me," Pyrrha whispered and refused to meet Ruby's eyes. "I…I was in there somewhere. I was aware of what I was doing and who I was chasing. I didn't have control but I knew. I watched it all and I didn't fight it."

"Could you have?"

It was Pyrrha's turn for the non-committal shrug. "Perhaps. My spirit felt like it was torn out of me. I had no real existence. Just…vision. I could see and I could comprehend but I couldn't choose. I just watched my hands and my body take life after life." Finally, she looked at Ruby. "All for you." Ruby seemed fairly horrified but Pyrrha didn't know what else to say. "You don't deserve to die, Ruby. If anyone does…it's me."

"You already did," Ruby said sadly and lowered her head. "You died and Penny died and so many people around me have suffered and died and it's all because of me. People want me for things I don't even understand. Salem and Ozpin…you…it's too much. All I ever wanted was to hunt and be normal—normal knees." Her voice trailed off and though Pyrrha didn't understand the last part, she sensed the tone. "I thought when I admitted I was depressed it would start to get better, but days like today I just feel so hopeless. I have Weiss, my sister and Blake. You're…here and so is Jaune. I'm not alone anymore but I still feel like I am. I want to get better but I keep blaming myself for everything. I keep messing up."

Pyrrha continued to study Ruby and watch as her friend seemed so stuck in her own head. She didn't know the entirety of Ruby's illness—only that she would spend hours talking with her Uncle before he left with her father.

It was a big debate about whether Qrow should leave at all given Ruby's state, but she insisted because she didn't want to hold anyone back. If Qrow and Taiyang could find help and do good, Ruby didn't want to stand in the way of that.

Because Ruby thought that's what she was doing—standing in the way.

"It has to be for something, right?" Pyrrha asked and Ruby looked at her curiously. "We're still here, you and me—after everything we've been through and we're still here. It has to mean we're here for a reason."

Ruby closed her eyes. "I used to think I was here to be a hero. To save people."

"You still can be," Pyrrha's voice raised just a little and it surprised Ruby. "I've seen how dark the world is, Ruby. I've seen the darkness and the evil—it's ruined me, don't let it do the same to you. You have to keep fighting. You're a threat to Salem—you're important. You can still be a hero."

"Pyrrha, I can't even sleep through an entire night without nightmares or having a breakdown. Who am I going to help?"

"Start with yourself," Pyrrha wasn't sure where this was coming from, but she knew she needed to say it. "You don't understand, Ruby—Salem wanted to hold _you_ prisoner. Strip away everything that made you who you are because you are a threat to her." Her words felt impactful, more so because Ruby seemed to be visibly shaken by them. "Somehow, you survived. You escaped me time after time—I remember that, Ruby. You are a survivor. You beat me and Salem, you can beat this. You can be strong again. I believe in you."

For Pyrrha, it was easy to give speeches. Telling others how great they were made sense. To her, they were all pretty amazing. Ruby and her team, Jaune and all that he'd been through; they were the ones who shined brightest.

Just being able to be here with them again, even if she didn't belong—even if she was a monster—felt like enough.

Seeing Ruby smile made Pyrrha's feel better. It was a sense of accomplishment she hadn't had in forever. For a moment, the torment inside of her vanished. It would return again—it always did and with it would come guilt and misery. For now though, she enjoyed watching Ruby brighten.

"It's really good to have you back, Pyrrha. I—I know that day was awful…for all of us—especially you but I just…" she sighed and shook her head. Pyrrha was certain another apology was on the way but she stopped herself. Before Pyrrha could react, a pair of arms were wrapping around her neck and she was being hugged. It was such a kind gesture and Pyrrha welcome it but failed to return. She didn't feel comfortable touching Ruby. The truth was, she hadn't felt comfortable putting her hands on anyone but especially not Ruby. She wasn't worthy of it, not after all she'd done to the girl.

Instead, she let herself be embraced and when Ruby pulled away, they both stood. "Back to bed?" Pyrrha asked, trying to sound upbeat.

Ruby winced. "Yeah," She looked back at her room. "Think I can sneak in without getting in trouble?"

"I'm certain," Pyrrha answered, knowing full well that Weiss wouldn't mind at all being awoken in the middle of the night.

After bidding a goodnight, Ruby retreated to her room and Pyrrha picked up Jaune's sword from the concrete and slowly made her way back to their room. She fought with all she had to keep those feelings of guilt at bay. A part of her always imagined it would be better if she left—she was dangerous and had no real idea what she was.

The fact that, as they journeyed, she could sense when they were approaching Grimm didn't sit well with her, but she'd kept it to herself because she could control it. There was no point drawing attention to her small changes. The lack of sleep and the fact she didn't eat was just something that everyone silently accepted.

Her sensing Grimm and still hearing the whispers of Salem in her mind were another story. One she didn't want to worry the others with. If she could handle it, she would. If it was too much, she'd put an end to the threat before anyone else was hurt.

Quietly, Pyrrha returned to the room and carefully put Jaune's weapon back in it's sheath before closing the door behind her.

As she turned, she jumped at the sight of Jaune sitting up in bed and watching her.

He was shirtless, with the blanket bunched up around his waist. His hair a mess atop his head and a tired smile on his face, he looked beautiful. Pyrrha swallowed the lump in her throat and backed up a step until she met the door.

"Did I wake you?"

Jaune shook his head. "I woke up on my own. I was going to see how you were doing but you were gone. I was _just_ about to get out of bed and come find you."

"Oh?" Pyrrha smiled. "Yes, you look like you were moments away from leaping out of bed."

"I was!" He cried and Pyrrha laughed softly. "Is everything okay?" Pyrrha nodded but still kept her distance. She fought the urge to run away, as she did a lot lately. Being around the others was hard—but being around Jaune was torture. He never seemed to falter with her. He didn't push and he never asked questions beyond making sure she was doing well. He just accepted and helped when he could. She felt so comfortable around him that it made her uncomfortable.

They were sharing a hotel room and had spent every day together. Sure they hadn't had any deep conversations or addressed any of their real issues, but Pyrrha clung to the safety of Jaune like life support.

Which was ironic considering Pyrrha didn't know if she even was alive sometimes. "It was just some kind of animal."

"No Grimm?" He asked and she eyed him worriedly.

"N—no, no Grimm. Why would you think that?"

He shrugged. "You seem to perk up when they're nearby. Even when the rest of us don't see them."

"Oh," she had not expected him to notice. "I spent a long time chasing you and Ruby through the woods. I suppose I grew accustomed to sensing them."

Jaune nodded—it was another thing that bothered her. She could talk so openly with him about having tried to kill him to get to Ruby a dozen or so times. He didn't seem to care and he certainly wasn't upset about it. He would talk of their encounters and not even flinch. As much as it had affected Ruby, Jaune seemed completely immune.

He was so in the moment that it made Pyrrha forget the past. "That makes sense." He said before she saw him scoot over a bit in bed. "I know you don't sleep but…you must want to lay down sometimes?" He made room for her and Pyrrha felt herself reaching for the doorknob. "I—I'm not…trying anything, I promise. I can get up if it makes you feel better. I just worry about you. You never stop."

His concern touched her, but she didn't move towards the bed. "I simply don't fatigue, Jaune. My body is constantly alert. It was hard enough to sit still while traveling. I'm not used to…rest."

"Must be hard," he frowned and returned the blankets to where they were. "I'd stay up all night with you if I could."

This made Pyrrha smile and she pulled away from the door. "You say this now, but I seem to remember you being horrible to wake up in the mornings."

He scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You were always done training before anyone else got up and Nora always woke up singing and dancing. I had to pick up the lazy slack for the rest of you."

The mention of Nora settled over both of them and Pyrrha retook her seat at the table by the window. "Are you nervous about seeing them again?"

"Are you?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "I asked you first."

Jaune smirked. "Fair, and to answer your question…I'm pretty excited actually. I told them I'd see them again when they split from me and Ruby. I hope they're happy. I guess I kind of hope they turn Blake and Yang down."

"You do?" Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion. As nervous as she had been, she knew how badly they needed the help.

Still, Jaune nodded in confirmation. "I want their lives to be so great that they just can't go with us. I want them to be happy—I'd be happy if Nora was pregnant or something. Anything to keep them safe, you know?"

"Pregnant? Are she and Ren…?"

Jaune waved her off. "Oh no, I don't know. I don't think so. They weren't when they were with us—at least I don't think they were. They shared a sleeping bag sometimes but I never heard any of that…stuff." His face turned red and Pyrrha found it adorable. "Ren never talked to me about any of that and I like to think, as his best friend, he would have come to me for romance advice."

Pyrrha couldn't help herself. "Yes, because when it comes to making a move you are the man to go to."

"Okay that was unfair. You were the one holding back."

Her playful smile suddenly turned sad. "I made a move."

Jaune nodded somberly and looked down. "It's funny how the worst day of my life can also have the best moment stuck right in the middle of it, you know?"

"I do." A silence fell between them and Pyrrha enjoyed it. She enjoyed being around him and how normal it made her feel. It may never be anymore than this, but sometimes she thought that might be enough. Their moment was ruined when Jaune let out a hearty yawn that ended with a goofy squeak. "Go back to sleep," she demanded, waving him off.

"I want to stay up with you."

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, you go to sleep and I'll be here when you wake up."

She watched him lie back down, facing her the entire way as he tucked a pillow under his head.

It stunned her how, after all she'd been through, she could still love this boy so much.


	2. Nora Valkyrie

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…twenty." With her hands over her eyes, Nora Valkyrie was knelt down behind a tree as she counted the numbers off slowly. She listened, her old skills from combat honing in on the sounds around her. She could sense at least one of them in the bushes beyond the fencing that blocked off the play area. That was the farthest they could go within the walls of this place without getting in trouble. There were two more, likely the twins, nestled in the bales of hay. Those were the ones closest to her, the others had scattered. It would be a serious challenge, but one she was totally up for. "Ready or not here I come!" Nora shouted before jumping to her feet and scouring the area around her.

This school was so neatly tucked away in the back end of the village that she felt like they were miles away from anyone. It really was a great place, one she loved to come and help out at. It gave her something to do, a place to go and people to interact with.

The kids were an even better choice of company because they liked to have fun—way more than most other people on this village.

Nora slipped under the fence to where she knew one of them was hiding. It was almost too easy to find them, their tiny feet sticking out from under the brushes and the soft giggles they couldn't contain.

It was Nora's turn to be quiet and she tiptoed towards the hiding child and in one motion, reached into the bush and pulled them out.

"Got you!" She shouted and the young girl went into a fit of giggles as Nora spun her in the air. "You thought you were sneaky coming all the way over here! By the fencing and everything, you little brat!" Nora spun her again and the girl continued to laugh. She was then put on the ground and Nora tousled her hair. "Go inside and get your lunch! I'm going to round up the others and we'll join you."

"Okay!" The girl said with a clap of her hands before racing inside.

As the little one bounded up the few steps and ran inside, Nora set her sights on the twins. The hay bales were just for show, there weren't any horses here anymore, not since school started back up because they'd only be a distraction, but still, they were a pretty great hiding space. Assuming there weren't any spiders tucked away, in which case the twins would come out screaming.

The closer she came to the bales, the more her mind started to work. She could easily give the twins a laugh and enjoy herself at the same time. Once she reached the biggest bale, the only one with enough room for both of them, Nora knelt down and scooped her arms on either side.

Now, she might not have been as strong as she was at Beacon, at her absolute peak, but she could still lift two and a half of herself. This bale of hay was nothing and Nora hoisted it up with ease.

The moment it left the ground, both twins started to laugh and squeal in delight.

"Ah ha!" Nora cried. "I found you! I knew you two were in there! Come out!" She shook the bale, lowering it enough that when one of the twins fell out they didn't hit the ground very hard. Instead they laid on their back and started to laugh. Nora moved away just enough before shaking again and the other twin fell. "You're lucky there weren't spiders in there!" Nora threw the bale away before she started tickling both twins to draw out even more of those giggles she loved so much. They wiggled and kicked as Nora rolled around in the dirt with them.

Eventually one of them rose to their feet and wrapped their arms around her neck—she dramatically fell down and let them crawl on her.

Suddenly, a bell sounded in the distance and Nora wrapped her arms around both kids and held them steady. Sitting up, she saw Ren leaning against a support post on the deck by the entrance, bell in hand and a grin on his face. "Are you kids having fun?"

"Nora's not a kid!" The twin in her right arm said and Ren met Nora's eyes.

"I don't know about that, Miko. I think she might be."

"Pfft," Nora let the twins go and stood up to dust herself off. "I'm two months older than you, Ren. If anyone's the kid it's you… _kid_!" She pointed and the twins followed suit.

"Be that as it may, it's time to eat and I've made special fruit punch for everyone!" He raised his voice to draw out all the other kids hiding and it worked like magic. Suddenly children were sprouting up from every tucked away corner in the playground.

Even the twins ran away from Nora and into the school with bounding footsteps.

Still, through the chaos of children, Ren was still looking at her. "Aww, you ruined all the fun." Nora pouted and strode up to where he was standing.

"I saved the children from having to change clothes after you wrestled them all in the dirt." He pointed at her top and she realized it was, in fact, stained with dirt and pieces of hay. "You're a mess."

"Well, technically the dirt is messy, and the hay is probably pretty messy cause it's been out here this whole time, probably filled with nasty spiders and bugs and stuff. But not me, I'm not messy, I'm just a little dirty."

Ren tilted his head. "I don't think there's a difference."

"It all comes off though, I just have to wash up." She shook her head and clouds of dirt flew off. You could help me? I got some on my back that might be hard to—oh," Nora chewed her lip, suddenly realizing what she was saying. "Sorry…was that too much?"

She wanted him to be comfortable, he had taken the time to explain to her what he wanted and she was fine with it, it was just hard to filter her brain from her mouth. "It's fine, Nora. I would be happy to help you clean if that was what you needed."

"I just don't want to you think I'm pressing you. I'm not, I would never!" She raised her voice, suddenly frantic at the idea of chasing him away. "I just can't stop myself from talking sometimes. Like the time we met those really mean guys at the docs when we first got to Vale. There was like seven of them!"

"Three, and one of them was ten."

"He called me a butthead!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "You called him one first."

"Well he was!" Nora sighed. "That's not the point, the point is that I'm sorry. You said you weren't interested in…the physical stuff and I said it was okay but I can't just go talking about being naked and washing up and all that kind of stuff with you because—"

"Nora," Ren cut her off gently. "It's okay, really—because I know it's an adjustment but I also know that if I tell you I'm uncomfortable, you'll stop."

"Yes!" She again shouted, hating how she couldn't control her own voice. It was just hard because she wanted Ren to know how much she loved him and how much she needed him in her life every day—in whatever what made him comfortable. "I will, full stop." She then let out a very distinct screeching noise that she hoped sounded like car breaks.

"Nora!" Ren again called her name and cut her off. He then pulled her in for a very welcoming hug. "You're doing fine, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed in relief and hugged him back—giddy in knowing that he was hugging her despite all the dirt. "I love you, Ren."

"And I you," he pulled back and used his thumb to brush some dirt off her cheek. "Now, go wash up and we'll eat some lunch."

Nora saluted him. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Nora was officially bored out of her mind. This was always her least favorite part of the day—nap time. When all the kids would rest for a few hours so they didn't get cranky in the afternoon, Nora constantly found herself missing all the fun and being the cranky one.

Not that she didn't enjoy spending the alone time with Ren, it was just that he was constantly busy with checking the kid's assignments or planning new ones. When they'd moved out here after deciding they wanted to step away from hunting, it was not an easy decision. A lot of late night conversations, long after Jaune and Ruby had went to bed, led to them agreeing they needed to walk away.

The truth was, Nora didn't want to leave the fight or her friends—she didn't want to walk away but Ren did. As great of a fighter and protector as Ren was, he always had a draw back to this village where they'd grown up. It sheltered him, both of them, and Nora knew he'd always wanted to give back.

So when they returned, he poured everything he had into opening this place for the kids who couldn't afford to go to school in the nearby town. Their enrollment wasn't much, none of the children's families paid a single lien, but Ren and Nora kept it afloat with odd jobs and selling from the small garden they'd built up at home.

It was an incredibly simple life, one that Nora enjoyed and at times felt trapped in. She loved Ren though, and that carried more weight than even her desire to hunt again. After losing Pyrrha, it became too scary to think that something could happen to Ren as well. Nora knew without question that if she lost him, she'd lose herself in the process.

So she left with him, back to this village and to the safety of mundane. It was not the place she imagined herself at this age, but she looked up at Ren with his pen in hand, grading the spelling of small children and she knew it was where she belonged.

She just wished some monsters would come to the village so she could go on a hunt—it'd been years since she'd swung her hammer.

Throwing her head back, Nora leaned her chair on the hind legs and tried to find a good balance. Her feet were on the desk so she was stable enough but she couldn't find the right—

"Nora?" Ren made her jump and she nearly fell over as vertigo struck her. She slammed down into a seated position, far too loudly that she probably woke up some of the kids and her face was certainly red. "Are you trying to injure yourself?"

"Pfft," Nora waved him off and looked over her shoulder through the doorway where the kids were sleeping. "If anything I'd injure the floor," she flexed. "It can't handle this."

Ren sighed. "You're bored, aren't you?"

"No," she waved him off but felt his gaze stay on her. "I mean…maybe a little. Lunch was fun and I know we've got games when they wake up I just…wish they'd hurry up with their silly naps."

Ren's tired expression turned into a smile. "You're very good with them."

Nora shrugged—Ren told her that a lot. "They're easy. Kids just want to have fun and so do I, we go together like peanut butter and oranges!"

"I think you're the only person who actually enjoys that."

"I'm the only person smart enough to give it the chance it truly deserves." She winked at him and he laughed and Nora felt herself fall a little bit more.

This was why she gave up hunting—for that smile and the way he looked at her.

A sudden knock on the main door drew both of their gazes and Ren rose to his feet first. They never had people show up at this time of day—parents wouldn't come for their kids for another three hours.

"I'll go," Nora stood and patted his shoulder. "Go make sure none of the kiddos woke up from that or…you know…me almost falling."

She bounded out of the main classroom and down the hall to the entrance. Nora tried to figure out who it might be as she approached the door. It could be the twins' mom, she was always a little jump and might have thought they needed to come home because the world was going to end or something. Then again, she always seemed to think her kids were safest here because, as Milo put it, Ms. Nora was stronger than an ox Grimm.

However, nothing could prepare her for what she saw when she opened the door. Instead of a concerned parent or someone trying to sell them new furniture, it was a familiar blonde and her Faunus partner.

"Wh—Yang? Blake? What are you…what?" Before either of them had a chance to answer, Nora leapt forward and pulled them both into her arms. Blake let out a squeak at the impact but Yang only laughed into Nora's ear and hugged her back.

She held onto them for dear life, worried that if she let go they might disappear or she would wake up and they'd be gone. She'd dreamed of her friends before and this might be that, but right now it felt so real and so amazing.

"Nora," it was Blake and her voice was weak. "You're still really strong."

Reluctantly, she drew back and took in the sight of her friends. They were older, of course, but they still looked mostly the same. That is, until Nora caught sight of the shiny, yellow right arm of Yang Xiao Long.

"Whoa!" She screamed, no doubt waking up the kids now. "That is the most awesomest thing I have ever seen and I once threw a dart through a dart board and ripped it into pieces. Yang your arm is so cool!"

She watched as Yang lifted up the prosthetic and let her fingers dance. "It gets the job done," Yang said with a wink and Nora saw Blake roll her eyes. "Honestly, I thought the dude in the town was lying when he told us you and Ren ran a school for underprivileged children."

Nora frowned. "Do you think we _wouldn't_ help underprivileged children?" She watched Yang's eyes go wide with horror.

"N—no! Of course you would! I just meant—"

"Aw I'm just kidding!" Nora patted Yang on the shoulder hard and made the blonde stumble a bit. "It's not where I saw us going either but here we are, and here _you_ are! What are you two doing here?!" Nora looked over her shoulder. "Ren! It's Yang and Blake!" She refocused on Blake and Yang. "He's probably furious that I woke the kids but he'll get over it when he sees you two!"

Yang's eyes narrowed. "So you two really…run a school?" Before Nora could answer, Blake smacked Yang on the side. "What?! I'm not judging! I think it's great…just not where I'd expect them. Especially Nora I mean…" Yang eyed her up. "Nora you're wearing glasses."

"Well I have bad vision you goof! I've always had it but you only need to see in the general direction of someone when you're swinging around a giant hammer! You've gotta be a little more careful when you're swinging around small children." The words tumbled out before she could stop them. "I mean, not that I'm swinging around small children! I mean not without them enjoying it. They laugh and we play and they like it when I throw them around!"

As she ran out of breath, a hand touched her shoulder.

"It's true," Ren's voice was as calming as ever. "Yang, Blake…I had worried we would never cross paths again. I am very glad to have been wrong."

Nora took a step back as Ren embraced their friends. She giggled when Yang lifted Ren up off his feet a little. She also noted how careful and hesitant Yang was with her shiny right arm—not letting her touch linger for too long.

"You look great, both of you," Blake said as she drew back with a smile on her face and her ears wiggling atop her head. Nora had to fight every instinct in her body not to squeal in delight and touch them. "I—I feel almost bad for coming and I know that it's so sudden but we were hoping the two of you might be interested in helping us."

Nora felt her brow furrow in confusion but Ren nodded and stepped back. "It's about what happened with the Atlesian Military, isn't it? The reports of a base being seized reached all the way out here."

Yang sighed. "That…and a little bit of what happened at Beacon and…a little bit of what might happen in the coming months and…a whole lot more you'd really have to see for yourself."

"Mr. Ren! Mr. Ren! Mika wanted me to—whoa!" As the tiniest of footsteps bounded up behind them, Nora turned to see that Milo's brown eyes had latched onto the very cool prosthetic arm Yang had and he refused to look away. "Your arm is so colory!"

To her credit, Yang knelt down with a smile. "It's really fancy isn't it? You wanna touch it?"

"Yes!" He jumped but then hesitated and looked up at Ren. "Can I touch it?"

Ren held his hands up. "If Ms. Xiao Long says it's okay then you can."

"I say it's okay."

"Hey!" Nora called out. "Why don't we do this inside? We can eat our desserts and introduce the kids to our friends?"

With a nod, Ren opened the door fully. "That sounds like a good idea, if you two are okay to come in for a bit?"

Yang glanced up at Blake as Milo ran his fingers over her prosthetic arm.

"Sure," Blake said and Yang stood up, but not before lifting up Milo in her left arm. "Come on, kid. I'll show you the arm, you show me what you've got for desert."

As they walked inside, Nora noted the way Blake eyed Yang—it was the same way she felt looking at Ren. Once the others had passed, Nora bumped Blake with her hip. "You've got googly eyes."

Blake blushed profusely but refused to waver. "She's very good with children."

"Uh huh." Nora wrapped her arm over Blake's shoulder. "So good that she makes your tummy do that really neat floppy thing?" Nora added a wink for emphasis.

Blake sighed with defeat and let herself be guided inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for the early feedback and for sticking around with me. We're not going to throw in too many new POVs because we don't wanna overdo it, but Nora was one I wanted from the start and she's fun to write. Anyway, let me know what you thought and I'll see you next Friday ;)


	3. Lies

As the sun peeked through the blinds of their hotel room window, Ruby sighed in relief at the sight of it. Nights were always hard, they seemed to go on forever when she couldn't sleep and that happened more often than not.

So much had changed in the last few months. They went from being stuck in a military base in Atlas to hiding out a hotel in the deepest parts of Vale on the seemingly endless bank account of Winter Schnee. She and Weiss had both taken as much money as they could—Weiss having had her account reopened while she was living with her father and with that money they were trying to stay afloat and gather as much help as they could.

Of course, that meant everyone else had jobs and missions and places to go. Not Ruby though, she was stuck because she was useless.

After three months, she still hadn't found the courage to take up her weapon again. Qrow left it when he and Taiyang went to find some of their old friends, but Ruby had asked Weiss to keep it for her. Weiss had, locking it away and not telling Ruby where it was, at her request, because knowing would be too darn tempting.

Instead, Ruby sat in her hotel room, tried to help where she could and felt miserable with every pity look she was given.

She was no longer the leader—no that was Winter, who had taken control of everything they were doing. Yang seemed to be Winter's next in command and Weiss did a lot of work as well. Blake was the one sent out the most—whether it be to scout and see if anyone had come looking for them or to locate their next target.

The only person with less freedom and responsibility was Pyrrha, and that was by her own choice.

A soft sigh next to her drew Ruby's mind away from the maddening thoughts and she watched as Weiss rolled over, still asleep, and curled against her.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Weiss' cranky expression—even in sleep she was no doubt chiding someone for not doing their best. To say that Ruby loved Weiss would be a massive understatement – understatement of the century. In a world that had taken so much from her, Weiss was the one thing that Ruby had found and with so much going wrong, Ruby knew she'd become a bit clingy.

It was hard not to, the only time she ever felt like herself was when she was with Weiss. With Yang and Blake gone on a mission, it was even worse. Weiss would to go meet with her sister or talk with Jaune and Ruby would sit around waiting for her to come back. It only added to the feelings of hopelessness for Ruby. She felt more like a pet than a person and she wanted to be better, but she couldn't even sleep through an entire night and the last time she'd opened up about anything was back when she had a therapist to talk to. It was easier to tell it to a stranger, to explain to them how useless she felt and how hard it was for her to be around people she'd considered family. Ruby didn't want to seem as weak as she was around them because they needed her to be strong. An army could come for them at any moment, they couldn't stop because she was childish and needy and broken.

So she hid behind her smiles and her constant claims of how 'fine' and 'okay' she was.

Often times when she said it, Weiss would give her a sad look and nod—Ruby wasn't sure if Weiss believed her anymore, but she never challenged it.

At this point, neither of them were telling the truth, but when the world stood still for a moment and they could cuddle up in bed together, everything felt perfect enough.

Pushing up on her elbow, Ruby leaned down and dropped a kiss on Weiss' temple. Her bed partner made another noise, more of a delighted sigh but her eyes remained closed. Bored after her long night and desperate to see those blue eyes, Ruby kissed her again, this time on the cheek and with a bit more emphasis.

Weiss elicited another noise only this time she exhaled slowly and Ruby knew she'd broken through the sleep.

Lying back down, to appear innocent enough, she watched Weiss' eyes open and find her.

"Mmm Ruby?" Weiss mumbled and was given another kiss, this one on the corner of her mouth. "What're you doin?" Weiss was always so cute in the morning—etiquette be damned.

"Nothing," Ruby said with a shrug as she laid back down and ran her hand over Weiss' arm under the covers.

"You woke me up," Weiss pouted and drooped her eyes closed again. A few seconds later they opened she let out a open mouthed yawn. "It's so early!"

"It's not that early, I waited long enough to let you get a good seven hours of sleep."

Weiss' responses were slower in the morning. Almost like she had to process what was said to her a few times before her mind could come up with something worth saying.

"You waited?" There was concern in her voice and Ruby realized her stumble.

She had to cover. "I mean a few minutes, yeah. You know me—I always wake up before everyone else."

Those deep blue eyes stared at her for a long time before either of them moved again. It was almost like Weiss was studying her—trying to read her.

Eventually, she nodded and let her eyes close again in an exaggerated blink. She opened them again when Ruby's hand touched her cheek.

"You're not lying to me, right?"

"Of course not," Ruby said, hating how second nature these responses had become.

Weiss swallowed thickly. "So you're sleeping? You're doing okay?"

With her best smile, Ruby nodded. "I am, though it looks like you could use a little more sleep." The quick subject change was a skill Ruby had mastered. The quicker as she could turn the attention away from herself, the better.

"Mmm," Weiss breathed extendedly through her nose and shook her head. "I'm awake," she said with her eyes _again_ closed.

"Uh huh," Ruby chuckled. "How about this? You roll over and go back to sleep for a bit and I'll be your big spoon?"

Weiss shook her head before scooting closer and burying her face in Ruby's chest. "Here, I'll sleep here."

"In my boobs?" Ruby asked and Weiss nodded against her. Unwilling to argue, Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss and held her. "Okay, you sleep."

She did not get a response because Weiss had already slipped away again. So Ruby held her and found herself waiting once again.

* * *

_Found Ren and Nora. You'll never guess what they've been doing. Also they're a couple now. Also don't eat all the cookies in my room. I know you found them and those are for Blake. There were seventeen when we left and if there's one short I'll kick your butt._

Ruby frowned at the message as she put her phone away and thought back to the four cookies she ate yesterday.

The sounds of grunting and blades clashing together drew her attention once again to the main training area that Weiss and Winter had made in the gym of the hotel they were staying in.

One of the most important things that Winter had demanded of them was this—training. As naturally talented as they all were, the truth was that they'd only had one year of academy and were nowhere near true hunter skill.

So Winter had made it her mission to prepare them as best she could. She was tough, no, she was brutal. Though Ruby only trained with weights and cardio—Weiss and they others went through sparring almost daily.

When it came to the matches, nobody had it tougher than Weiss.

Ruby sat back on one of the weight benches and watched as each move Weiss made was countered. She would go in for a strike only to be swatted away. Each time she attacked her face would curl up with even more aggression. Yet, the fury of her strikes only seemed to cause her to telegraph them even more.

She attacked again—a lash followed by a spin, a thrust and flip to barely dodge Winter's attack.

As the sister's continue to battle, Ruby swore there was ice building on the mirrors that surrounded the walls and when Weiss finally let out a frustrated scream and attacked, Winter spun her leg and swept Weiss' feet right out from under her.

Weiss fell hard on her back, the sound of her rapier clanking against the ground filled the silence that followed and Ruby grimaced.

"Your anger will only lead to your end, Weiss. You need to learn to control yourself."

"I am in control! I'm just exhausted from all of this!" Weiss pushed up to her feet, her words matched by the sweat that covered her and how red her face and neck were. "With the other's gone you're taking it all out on—"

"Don't make excuses, Weiss. You're better than that." Winter sighed and walked over to pick up Myrtenaster. "Yes, you've been through a lot this week but do you really think a true enemy is going to give you a break because—"

"Winter," Weiss snatched the weapon from her sister. "Save your speeches. I get it, I'm not ready—you've made that perfectly clear each time we do this. I'm going to shower and rest—I'm done here."

Ruby went against all of her own instincts and refused to make a move towards Weiss as she stomped out of the gym. She knew it would only get her yelled at and she'd go to Weiss later and tend to her.

For now, she sat with her hands in her lap and watched as Winter shook her head and pulled a towel from her bag to wipe her forehead.

"You're not helping her." It took Ruby a moment to realize that Winter was actually speaking to her. She sat in silence and stared at Winter's back before the older Schnee sister turned to look at her.

Ruby felt herself wavering under the harsh stare of Winter, but she refused to be weak. "I am helping her, I help her after each training session where you beat her down over and over again like a…a big bully!"

Winter rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to keep her strong—you've seen what we're up against, you saw how they tore down your school and killed your friends. You think they'll care if she's not up for it." Winter narrowed her eyes. "You think they'll care if _you_ just can't handle it."

"I'm trying!"

"Are you?" Winter bit back, not at all taken back by Ruby's raised voice. "I've been training all of you for a month now and not once have you brought your weapon. You can lift weights and run all you want, but if I don't teach you how to fight then you _are_ going to die."

The words cut deep, mostly because Ruby knew they were true. Still, she didn't understand why Winter was attacking her. "I don't understand—"

"There's nothing to understand, Ruby. You have PTSD, I respect that because I have seen it, multiple times. I know it's hard and I know you struggle, but my sister cares about you deeply and you are either going to be strong for her, or you're going to drag her down with you and I will not allow that to happen."

It felt like Winter had pulled the thoughts and fears right out of Ruby's mind. All of her nightmares revolved around this endless pit of despair she fought every day eventually drowning Weiss right along with her.

"I'm trying," Ruby said again but this time it barely carried from her lips.

Winter's eyes narrowed. "I'm not—" she cut herself off and took a deep breath—seemingly trying to calm herself down. "I'm not threatening you and I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I am simply telling you that you need to decide if you really do wish to better yourself. Because if you do, then you need to start focusing more on that and less on being there for Weiss after our sparring matches."

"Can't I do both?" Ruby asked with genuine confusion. It seemed simple enough to think she could do both.

However, Winter's response quickly brought her back to reality. "You haven't been able to yet."

With that, Winter picked up her bag and left Ruby alone in the gym—completely lost in her thoughts.

* * *

Ruby sat cross legged on the bed in their hotel room and listened as the water in the shower ran. Their room was pretty extravagant compared to where Ruby was used to sleeping. Even the base in Atlas had nothing on this place. The bed was comfy, the television was massive and Weiss had an endless supply of room service coming and going.

For as much as they had given up walking away from their father, Winter and Weiss had yet to relinquish the lavish lifestyle they were used to. Ruby wasn't sure how they managed to get so much lien from him, but they never seemed to worry about running out.

As she traced her fingers over the scar on her stomach, a new tick she'd picked up, Ruby let Winter's words wash over her.

It was not exactly a revelation that Winter had laid on her—more like a confirmation. Ruby was doing no good for Weiss or anyone else like this. She was scared and she was holding herself back because she didn't trust what she might do in a fight. She was reckless and on bad days Ruby often felt worthless and empty. Like the world would be a better place without her. To be in a fight with that mentality was dangerous. She didn't want to die—she didn't want to kill herself.

She just wanted to feel like she was important again—like the hero she was supposed to be.

As much as she loved Weiss, Ruby couldn't help but wonder if she really was holding her back—preventing her from moving forward because Weiss was constantly taking care of her. Ruby had her share of bad nights, and she wasn't always great at keeping them to herself. When they were bad, when a nightmare would really hit her hard, Weiss would be there—up with her all night if necessary.

Then the next day, Weiss would train and be less than her best—which was unacceptable for a Schnee.

Ruby hated being a burden—to her father and her sister, to Qrow and now Weiss. People had always felt a need to shelter her and protect her—that was why she focused so much on becoming a huntress—she wanted to be able to take care of herself.

Now that she couldn't, she was suddenly being sheltered again. People whispering when she was around, not wanting her to hear the heavy stuff. She hated it—she hated being anything less than what she wanted to be.

When the water cut off Ruby took a deep breath and put on her best smile. Weiss had a rough training session and was probably cranky and needed her girlfriend right now. Ruby could at least be that for her—she could hold in her own problems and make Weiss feel better.

Standing up from the bed, Ruby shuffled to the door and knocked three times.

"Are you decent?"

A pause. "I'm in a towel, I'm not certain that counts as decent."

Ruby smiled. "Can I come in?" She was answered a moment later when the lock unlatched. The heat of the air hit her when she opened the door—that and the smell of Weiss' shampoo. She took in the scent and the sight of her soaking wet girlfriend with long, white hair cascading down her back and droplets of water trickling over her skin.

She was, as always, beautiful. "You're staring." Weiss said as she looked at Ruby through the mirror.

"Can you blame me? You're so—" without finishing, Ruby stepped up and kissed Weiss' shoulder before wrapping her arms around her waist. "Can I give you a massage? Make you feel better?"

With a sigh, Weiss' tense body sagged and she nodded. "That would be lovely, thank you, Ruby."

"Of course!" Ruby beamed and led Weiss out of the bathroom. Once they reached the bed however, Ruby stopped. "H—how do you want…do you want to put anything on?"

Weiss stared at her for a moment and bit her bottom lip. "I'm really tired and sore—plus it's extremely hot here during this time of year. I—I think I'm okay like this."

Ruby suddenly had butterflies threatening to take over her stomach. "Oh—okay." Her hands were shaking now. "W—well lie down and I'll get started!" She spoke way too eagerly and Weiss hesitantly laid on her stomach, but not before untying the towel and draping it across her butt. "Oh…you're—"

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" Weiss asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"No!" Ruby shook her head. "No, of course not. I'm an adult, I can handle a naked Weiss." She absolutely could not handle it. "L—let's do this!"

Weiss nodded before settling her head back down on the mattress.

Ruby was suddenly very aware of the heat as she straddled Weiss and started to drive her thumbs into Weiss' shoulders. To her credit, Weiss held in any noises and simply breathed sighs of relief at the contact. Ruby's own tension went away as she focused on what she was doing.

"I don't feel like I'm training, you know? It feels as though my sister is just beating me up over and over again. I'm not improving, I'm not learning—I'm just getting my butt kicked."

"You are, but you're also improving! I see it when I watch you. You're faster and Winter has to pick her own speed up to take you down. It's just hard to see it when you're…getting, you know…knocked down a lot."

Weiss sighed as Ruby moved down Weiss' back. "Yes, thank you, Ruby. You're right, I am improving. My butt is improving its form of landing on the ground."

"Weiss," Ruby chuckled and decided to stop trying. "You're so stubborn—even if you don't see, I do. As your girlfriend, I have the final say."

" _You_ have the final say?" Weiss again looked back to meet Ruby's eyes. As she felt Weiss shifting beneath her, Ruby lifted some of her weight off of Weiss and watched as the girl beneath her rolled over onto her back, an arm covering her bare chest.

Ruby's hands were held tightly at her sides. She didn't dare touch Weiss now in any way. All she could do was stare at the sight beneath her. If her words weren't enough to prove Weiss' improvement, the tone in her stomach and arms certainly was. From this position, Ruby could see all of it, every curve and divot—the definition of her abs were insanely tempting.

"I—I'm sorry," Ruby nearly fell off the bed as she forced herself to get away. She moved herself to stand in front of the window, just enough that she could see the outline of Weiss in the reflection.

From there, she watched Weiss sit up, still covering herself, and watch her. "I—I'm the one who should apologize, Ruby. I didn't mean to push you."

"You didn't—I just wasn't prepared. We were doing massagy stuff and then you rolled over and I thought I was having a heart attack or something." She saw Weiss tilt her head, confused at what Ruby had said. "I felt…all those things I read about in Blake's books. The heat in my stomach and the blood rushing to my head. If I had a katana I think it'd be unsheathing itself—"

"Ruby," Weiss cut her off with a sigh. "Really?"

Ruby grimaced. "Sorry—I'm nervous." Slowly, she forced herself to turn around and meet those blue eyes once again. Skin still beaded with droplets of water and face soft and natural—Weiss was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "You make me really nervous."

"And you make me do crazy things like this," she said before looking down at her state of undress and then back up to Ruby. "I've been waiting because I was a little bit scared, but…your sister and Blake are gone—Winter is off…doing whatever she does. Sun and Neptune are scouting. It's just us right now and…I'm ready."

_Yep, this is it Rose…this is where you pass out and make a fool of yourself in front of your girlfriend. This is it, you had a good run, but eventually your awkwardness was going to destroy you._

"Y—you're ready?"

Weiss smiled softly and nodded. "If you are."

It felt like a crossroads moment for Ruby. She knew that not matter what her answer was, she'd share this bed with Weiss tonight. It was a comforting thought that almost made her decision easier—because the choice was hers and no matter what answer she gave—Weiss would accept it.

Ruby unhooked her cloak and let it fall to the floor behind her. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the tie of her corset and fumbled with the strings.

"Wait," Weiss called out and when Ruby looked up, she was coming towards her—now completely uncovered. Unsure of where she should look, Ruby maintained eye contact with every ounce of strength she had before a pair of hands were suddenly pulling at the strings of her corset. "Let me help you." As the strings came undone, Ruby let out a slow, shaky breath and Weiss smiled at her again. "Are you sure?"

Ruby answered her with a kiss.

* * *

With a blissful sigh, Ruby laid in the darkness with Weiss curled up against her. She had her arm under Weiss and her fingers were tracing the line up and down her girlfriend's spine. It was an unexplainable feeling to have Weiss pressed up against her like this. The skin to skin contact following all they had just done was like coming down from the best adrenaline rush of all time.

In this moment, all of her problems felt solved. The guilt was gone, the fear was gone and all she wanted to do was lay here, Weiss in her arms, and sleep for days.

One thing Ruby had not expected, was how clingy and affectionate Weiss could be afterwards. For as much as they loved each other, in day to day situations, it would be impossible to tell that they were together. Weiss was not one for public displays of affection and Ruby never really sought them out.

Then once Winter showed up and was around all the time, those moments were even less. Still, after both of them finally giving into their desires and doing…the frick frack as Yang had called it, Weiss was still dropping soft kisses to any part of Ruby's body she could reach.

"That was pretty awesome, huh?" Ruby finally broke the silence of the room as Weiss placed her palm on Ruby's stomach.

"It was certainly a fine way to spend our evening, yes." Weiss shifted a bit. "Except when you put your knees on my hair."

Ruby frowned—as magical as the experience was, neither of them had ever done this before. It took a long time to finally find any sort of rhythm. "Listen, you kicked me in the stomach _and_ in the head. A little lost hair was only fair. Besides you have a ton of it."

Weiss was silent for a long moment and Ruby eventually wondered if she'd fallen asleep.

However, she spoke just as Ruby was prepared to call to her again. "I've thought about cutting it short lately."

"Oh?" Ruby was genuinely surprised. Weiss always seemed to cherish her hair.

"My father used to prefer my hair longer, he would say that I could do more with it, that it was more versatile and Schnee's needed to be able to adapt. I learned later from Winter that my mother used to keep her hair short. So making me grow mine out was another way for him to prevent me from reminding him of her." Ruby hated talking about Weiss' father, but she never discouraged it. In fact, she loved that Weiss would come to her with these things. "I suppose it's a bit admirable, when you think about it."

Ruby had thought about it, a lot and nothing about her father seemed admirable. "How do you figure that?"

She felt Weiss' fingers curl against her skin. "He wanted me to grow my hair out so I would look different from her. In some way, he was doing it so he would be able to be around me. To…see me and not hate me. Perhaps, it was his way of trying."

"No parent should ever hate their child, Weiss. It's not fair—you didn't do anything wrong." Weiss didn't answer her and Ruby knew why. Even though logic would show that Weiss did _nothing_ wrong in what happened to her mother, it was still too hard not to take the blame.

It was irrational and it didn't make any sense, but Ruby understood because she did the same thing. In some ways, she blamed herself for her mother's death, for Pyrrha and Penny. It was her fault.

The difference was, Weiss couldn't prevent any of it—but Ruby could have.

_Stop it, Ruby. Don't ruin this. Turn it off. Turn it off!_

Suddenly, Ruby was the one seeking affection and she turned her head and kissed Weiss again. Caught by surprise for a moment, Weiss gasped into Ruby's mouth but quickly recovered and began kissing back.

The intensity soon faded and they shared a few more casual kisses before Weiss lulled back and started stroking through Ruby's hair.

"What about you?" Weiss asked in as gentle of a voice as Ruby had ever heard from her. "How are you?"

Ruby was thankful the darkness of the room hid her frown. She just wanted to enjoy this, she didn't want to talk about how she felt.

"I—" she hesitated, a fatal mistake. "I'm great." She said and Weiss continued to stare at her. She could barely see those blue eyes but the way Weiss sagged against her was telling enough. She had clearly been hoping for more than that.

"That's…that's great, Ruby." Weiss spoke softly and Ruby felt Weiss lay her head on Ruby's shoulder. The lack of pressing was troubling—she knew that Weiss didn't believe her but instead of pushing for more, Weiss gave in and dropped it.

With that came the guilt again, lying to Weiss was awful and Ruby hated it but she didn't know how to talk about her feelings because she didn't understand them. She wanted to be more and to do more but she was scared. Scared of what? She didn't know.

Again that night, Ruby didn't sleep.


	4. Honey

"I gotta say, I did not see this coming."

Peeking up from her book, Blake watched as Yang slid a pair of shorts over her hips before running her hands through her hair. They had been resigned to sleep in the living room in Ren and Nora's very modest home. Their bed wasn't even a real bed, just a couch that had a pull out. Neither of them complained of course – Yang could sleep anywhere and Blake had slept everywhere.

Ren and Nora had requested time to consider their offer of returning to the fight—but for now, they all needed a good night's rest.

"See what coming?" Blake asked as Yang crawled into the bed next to her kicked at the blankets to slip her feet under them.

"The two of them living like this. I mean…they're like an old married couple." Yang spoke with a bit of distaste.

"It's not so bad, is it? They seem happy."

With a sigh, Yang leaned back against the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Even if she didn't know it, Yang had a habit of tracing the small patterns on her prosthetic arm with her left hand—as she was doing now. "I guess not. Like you said, they do seem happy. It's just not where I would have pictured them."

Blake smiled. "I'm sure Ren enjoys the quiet."

"Okay," Yang turned those lilac eyes to her. "It's not where I would have pictured _Nora_."

Putting her book down, Blake scooted up to sit next to Yang. Their shoulders were touching and Blake let her hand fall just enough to land on Yang's knee. "You never know where you might find someone after a few years apart."

Yang let out a breathy laugh. "True enough, though to be fair I lost an arm."

"They lost a teammate." Blake wasn't trying to lessen Yang's loss, only to point out that they'd all lost something the day Beacon fell. Still, she felt compelled to continue. "Where we ended up after Beacon was...almost impossible to avoid. We were all to young to be dealing with so much." Blake closed her eyes and finally voiced something she'd held in for years. "Ozpin was selfish to put that on us. He knew what he was doing letting us have that kind of freedom. We thought we were soldiers but we were just kids."

Blake had always held reserved anger towards Ozpin for treating his students like soldiers. The more she thought about it, the more she hated it. Thoughts of Ruby being allowed to attend at fifteen made her sick. It wasn't even that Ruby didn't belong, or that Blake didn't enjoy having her there, she did, but Ruby was just a child. More so, he made her the team leader and laid so much responsibility on her.

Now, at twenty and after losing so much, Ruby was stricken with mental illness and struggling to find her place in the world.

Not to mention that Yang lost an arm, Pyrrha lost her life and they all lost any feelings of safety that they thought this world might have for them.

"We _were_ kids." Yang nudged her and Blake left the path her mind had led her down. "Meaning that we would have found a way to get ourselves involved anyway. You were pretty set on stopping Torchwick and I wasn't about to ignore a good fight. Was it the best place for us to be? No—but we would have found our way into trouble anyway."

Blake knew it was true, she practically drove herself to a breakdown with stress. Before Yang came to her rescue.

Reaching across Yang's body, she grabbed the metal hand and laced their fingers together. Yang hated this, still didn't trust herself not to crush Blake's hand completely. Which was why Blake did it as often as she could. Yang needed to learn to trust herself again.

Eventually they turned the lights out and resigned themselves to sleep. But as the night dragged on, Blake was struggling to shut her mind off long enough to find rest.

Despite the darkness, she could see the room perfectly and knew that Yang was not only awake next to her, but was staring at her. Turning to face her girlfriend, their eyes met but it was so dark that Yang didn't know Blake was looking back at her.

Taking the opportunity the world had granted her, she spoke suddenly. "Yang!"

"Ah!" Her partner jumped and nearly fell off the bed. "Blake! What the hell? I was sleeping!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "You were not. You were staring at me."

"I was n—oh…right…the night vision thing." Yang frowned which only made Blake smile more.

"Good to know you listen during Faunus studies."

Yang's smirk grew and Blake saw the mischief in her eyes. "Of course, when I started crushing on my Faunus teammate, I had to know learn some stuff."

Instead of a response, Blake rolled her eyes and scooted a little closer so their shoulders were again touching. Yang was always so incredibly warm, no matter the temperature around her. It was one of the _many_ things that drew her in.

"Speaking of my Faunus teammate." Yang whispered as they were now closer together. Blake could feel Yang's fingers brushing against her. "You never did go into much detail about why the whole White Fang thing fell through so quickly."

Blake tensed and suddenly wished she'd just gone to bed. There was a lot of mystery surrounding what happened with the White Fang but that was mostly because she and Winter had decided not to tell anyone the whole story. Partly because there wasn't a whole lot of story to tell and also because it was hard for Blake to get into it.

Still, this was Yang and if they were going to make this work—if she was going to make this work, there couldn't be any secrets.

"There was nothing left to salvage from them. Whatever hopes I had of reinventing the White Fang were gone the second we encountered them."

Yang frowned beside her. "Why is that?"

"Because they were kids, Yang. The oldest member we saw couldn't have been a day over sixteen. They were orphans – reckless and violent. Raised in whatever the White Fang had become but they ran off their own leadership to make some terrorist group and none of them had enough reason to even listen to us."

"Did you guys—" Yang stopped herself and Blake didn't need her to continue.

"Some of them were overly aggressive – I didn't kill any personally but…they were no match for Winter's people. The few that were too afraid to fight ran afterwards." She felt a comforting touch of stroking fingertips along her skin and welcomed them. In the darkness like this, Blake felt safe enough to strip away some of her barriers. "It feels like such a waste."

"It's not,"

"Isn't it?" Blake cut Yang off. "The White Fang was a voice for my people and turned themselves into another reason for us to be mistrusted and hated by humans. We were supposed to be a shield for our people but instead became a sword for someone else's cause."

Yang nestled against her. "You're so fancy with your words sometimes."

"Yang…" Blake started to pull away in frustration but she was held in place.

"No, I know," Yang kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry—bad time for a smart ass comment. I just…" Yang squeezed her." Ugh, you're so good and I don't even think you realize it sometimes. Blake you are not to blame for what happened with the White Fang and what they became doesn't diminish all the awesome things you did and continue to do."

"What have I done?" Blake asked, more to herself than Yang. "All I've done is clean up my own messes and I've been doing it for years. I screwed up and gave too much of myself to Adam and he tried to kill us both. I ran to you without so much as an 'I'm sorry' because I needed you to hold me up and now I'm hiding with my team and letting my people suffer because I'm scared I can't make a difference by myself. I want a better life for the Faunus but I'm barely able to hold my own life together."

Suddenly, Yang sat up and Blake's warmth and comfort were gone. She watched through the darkness as Yang scooted up and a moment later she was being pulled up as well and was in her girlfriend's arms.

"Okay, first of all, what happened with Adam was not your fault. I didn't lose my arm because of you I lost my arm because he was a dick."

"Yang, if I had told you—"

"You didn't, and that's okay. It wasn't my place to push and I knew you'd reach out to me about it eventually if you trusted me enough and when I saw him hurt you I just…Blake I lost my mind. I had every intention of tearing him to pieces. I was going to kill him, but he disarmed me too quickly."

Blake glared up at Yang with all her might, even though Yang couldn't see it she wanted Yang to feel her annoyance. "Did you really just make that joke?"

"No good?"

"No!" Blake smacked Yang in the stomach and that only set her off into a fit of laughter. "Yang!"

"Alright," Yang sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry—but you know what I mean. What happened with Adam was just a shit circumstance and he was a bad dude. You clearly knew that because you left him and you were fighting him and you're not to blame for what he did."

"I helped him though!"

"At first, yeah? You were also—what? Sixteen when you were helping him—and naïve and didn't know any better because the White Fang was all you'd ever known. You can't punish yourself for trusting what you'd grown up with and as soon as you were uncomfortable with it you left." Blake listened to Yang's words and admired her for saying them, but she still felt like she'd done something wrong. "You said it yourself, Blake—those kids in the White Fang were too young to know what they were doing and so were you. The only difference is that you earned yourself a second chance."

Hearing Yang's words and the conviction with which she spoke tugged at Blake's heart. After everything that had happened and everything that she had… _done_ —Yang was still here and still supporting her.

When she touched Yang's cheek with her fingertip, Yang jumped in surprise. A moment later though, she relaxed and Blake kissed her tenderly. It was a long and slow kiss, Blake tried to pour all of her feelings into it.

Yang's hands found their way into her hair and Blake let out a delicate purr of approval. It took her a while to allow herself to make those noises around Yang, mostly for fear of the bad jokes—but in the heat of a moment like this, Yang was always appreciative.

As they pulled apart, Blake was left breathless and could see how swollen Yang's lips were from the intensity. It took all of her restraint not to kiss her again but she had things she needed to say.

"I'm sorry I left you."

"Blake—"

"No, I know," she silenced Yang softly. "I know we've talked about it and it's not guilt it's just…I need to say it. I'm sorry I ran away from you and I'm sorry I abandoned you. After your mom left you I shouldn't have done that. I should have stayed and taken care of you, I should have let myself open up to you. I should have done so many things, Yang. I'm sorry."

"Shh," Yang rubbed her back and that's when Blake realized she was crying. She hadn't cried—really cried, over all the emotions she'd felt when she left Yang behind that day because she hadn't allowed herself to. It was always just pure focus on Adam and then focus on getting back into Yang's life and never really accepting how painful it was to leave.

It felt wrong to be dumping this on Yang too—that's all Blake ever felt like she was doing was leaning on others to stop from drowning. "I shouldn't have—"

"Don't—you can't change it now, Blake. What's done is done and we're okay. We're here now and we survived. Just barely I'm sure but we did and right now I don't care about that. I don't care that you were gone or that I was a messed up idiot that slept in her bathtub when she drank too much. It doesn't matter anymore. We're here now."

"I just," Blake tried to speak but she couldn't find the energy. She exhaled slowly and tried to will the tears to stop coming. She had no intentions of doing this tonight and now it had happened and she couldn't reign it in. "I'm not going to leave you again, okay? You're stuck with me. No amount of bad cat jokes or horrible innuendos will ever push me away. I love you." The words felt so natural—almost as if she could have said them five years ago and they'd have been true even then.

Yang smiled that wonderfully large smile of hers. "I love you too…even more so now that I can make endless cat jokes."

"Yang!"

"Aww!" A sudden third voice in the room made them jump and Blake leapt off of Yang so fast she fell on the floor with a thump. "Oh no! I didn't mean to scare you! I was just listening to the two of you being _absolutely_ adorable, I mean it was kind of over the top but in a good way!"

Blake found herself on all fours on the floor as Nora rattled on. A light came on above her and she rolled onto her back to sit up only to see Nora in her pajamas at the doorway watching them with a goofy grin on her face. "I'm so glad you two are together now. Partners do make the best…well… _partners!_ " Yang's prosthetic hand was reaching down for her and Blake took it to help herself stand. Once back on her feet, she rubbed the back of her head as Nora continued to bounce on the balls of her feet.

"Are you…okay? Is everything alright?" Yang asked curiously, clearly as uncertain about the intrusion as Blake was. "Also when did _you_ get so sneaky?"

Nora let out a boisterous laugh. "Hey I know all the creaky floorboards in this house and I avoid them like a pro when I sneak out for nighttime snacks!" To prove her point, Nora moved her foot over a few inches and pressed down, instantly making the wood beneath cry out. "See? And to answer other question since the two of you are so curious—I'm here because Ren and I have decided that we're definitely going to come with you guys back to…uh…wherever you are!"

"Really?" Blake asked as she rubbed her head. "Just like that?"

"Of course!"

"What about your…school thing?" Yang asked and Blake was surprised to hear Yang questioning it at all.

Nora frowned a bit and her demeanor that was usually nothing but sunny did damped just a bit. "Well…that will be hard but we do have other teachers and families here who will keep it running while we're gone. We only have a few kids and you guys really sound like you could use the help!"

"It's going to be dangerous and unpredictable. You guys should know that before you commit to anything. There's…a lot you don't know."

Nora let out a snort of laughter that made Blake jump. "What else is new! I spent all of Beacon not knowing what was going on. You guys pointed me in a direction and I kicked butt! I can do that again!"

"And Ren is cool with this too?" Yang asked.

Nora nodded. "The coolest! He's packing our things right now—going through my underwear probably. I hope he doesn't find—" Nora's face went red. "Gotta go! Get some rest!" With that, the whirlwind that was Nora Valkyrie sprinted away—leaving Yang and Blake very confused in her wake.

Looking back to Yang, Blake realized that someone had turned a light on and she could now see Yang as clear as day. Her neck and cheeks were flushed and at some point in their kissing her tank top had been pulled down, revealing even more of that devilish cleavage.

"Huh, well that was interesting." Yang spoke offhandedly as Blake shook off the interaction and crawled back into the bed. "You really should change your password." That was when Blake realized that Yang had her scroll.

"What are you doing?" She reached out for it but Yang held her at bay with her damn prosthetic arm as she tapped away. "Yang!"

"Calm down, I'm just setting up a meeting with you and Sun when we get back." With her tongue sticking out as she continued to press her palm into Blake's chest, Yang finished her message and sent it away with an audible 'wooshing' sound. "There!" she moved her hand away and Blake viciously tore the phone from Yang's grasp and read the outgoing message.

"When I get back let's meet up about Faunus things." Blake spoke with a sigh before glaring at her partner. "Really? Do you really think he's going to believe I sent that?"

Yang wore a proud smirk. "It came from your phone."

"What am I going to do with you?" Blake put her phone down on the end table and laid back against her pillow.

A moment later, there was blonde hair and lilac eyes above her. "I could think of a few things."

Suddenly, Blake's throat was incredibly dry. "We're in someone else's home." Yang shrugged. "On a very questionable bed." Another shrug. "You're loud."

"Excuse me?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Fine, _I'm_ loud."

With a delicate smile, Yang gave Blake a very quick and soft kiss before drawing back. "Okay, we'll just go to bed then."

It took Blake all of ten seconds to pounce in frustration. They _had_ just recruited Ren and Nora. It could totally count as a victory celebration.

At least, that's what she'd tell Yang in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and the continued support. Thoughts and feedback are greatly appreciated :)


	5. Coward

Taking a deep breath, Weiss stared at herself in the mirror and gathered her hair into her hands to tie it up. The side ponytail was such a childish act of defiance towards her father. The day she left for Beacon she started doing it because, in her mind, it was a way to offset the perfection he constantly expected of her.

As if the scar on her eye wasn't enough – she put her ponytail on the side to further separate herself from the image he'd always wanted. For someone he seemed to hate most days, he certainly did take great interest in her appearance and presentation.

Now though, with him no longer a part of her life, she had the choice to tie her hair however she wanted. Today, it would go directly behind her head and hang down across her back. The first few nights they were here, Weiss had thought about cutting her hair off completely. Perhaps as short as Ruby's had been when they first met. She wanted to tear away anything that made her look or feel like a Schnee. She didn't want to be associated with that name or the man who cared so much about it.

He was different when he arrived at the station. Yes, he'd never much cared for her but he never seemed to actively hate her. She wondered if it was her relationship with Ruby that brought that out of him or just the fact that she'd ran from him without saying anything.

Or maybe now that he had the power of the Atlesian military at his back he didn't need to pretend to care about anything anymore.

Shaking her head, Weiss let her hair bounce and lifted her chin up high. She was not going to dwell on that man for another second. Not right now at least—no she had more important things to do. She was fighting a war; she was training to be a better huntress so she could protect those she loved. She was—

"Do you think blankets are sad when it's hot and we don't use them?"

Weiss sighed and put her brush down. She looked up through the mirror to spot Ruby behind her.

What she found was her girlfriend holding up a large comforter from their bed that Weiss had deemed was too heavy to sleep with. The heat had risen so much in the last few days it was almost unbearable to even cover with a sheet. Ruby had agreed and they were going to put the blanket in the closet, only now Ruby was staring at it like some kind of lost child.

"Ruby, it's a blanket."

This only made Ruby frown more. "I know, but we're just going to stuff it in the closet and lock it away in the dark. I feel bad for it."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "It, Ruby—that's the key word. _It_ is an inanimate object. It has no feelings and will not be sad to be put in the closet."

As she continued to watch Ruby through the mirror, she saw her girlfriend look at her for a moment with that same, adorable pout. Weiss was ready to deliver even more lectures on silly things to be upset over but before she could, Ruby threw the blanket over herself and stood up.

"Pretty lady, how could you say that about me?" Ruby dropped her voice to as deep of a tone as she could find. It wasn't very deep at all and it sounded ridiculous. "I am not just a blanket! I am here for you! I give you all the warms and protect you when you and girlfriend are naked and wrestling!"

Weiss whirled around in her seat to face blanket Ruby. "Ruby Rose!" She pointed her finger up at what she assumed was Ruby's face. "Do not make the blanket a person considering that we've done…very unseemly things underneath of it. We do not need that guilt!"

"You always scream 'more Ruby more!' and yours legs shake when you—"

"Ruby!" Weiss reached down and lifted the blanket up only to slip herself underneath of it. The air was hot under the large blanket that she _and_ Ruby now stood under—face to face in the darkness. "What are you doing?" She asked in a more serious and quieted tone now that Ruby was right in front of her.

She expected a silly answer and a goofy voice, instead Ruby spoke genuinely. "Trying to distract you so you don't leave."

All of Weiss' frustration melted away. "Ruby…you know I have to—I have things I must do with my sister."

"I know, I just wish I could come and help."

Tired of the added heat, Weiss lifted the blanket off of herself and Ruby hung it across her back like a cloak. "You're more than welcome to sit in on the meeting, Ruby. We're just planning out finances and things of that nature for when we move on to our next recruitment."

"Your sister doesn't want me there and I'm no help."

Weiss fought not to groan in frustration. She was not used to Ruby acting this way—lately it seemed that Ruby had taken to self pity and it drove Weiss crazy. "You help just fine, Ruby. You are still the leader of our team."

"Huh, yeah right. I don't even have a weapon and Winter is always asking Yang stuff."

"Ruby, do you want to sit in on the meeting or not?"

Ruby frowned and Weiss refused to let it affect her. "No, you go."

"Very well," Weiss kissed Ruby softly. "I'll be back shortly. Why don't you go see if you can find Jaune and workout with him or something? Entertain yourself—do not sit in this room all day, please?"

It took her a moment but eventually Ruby nodded and put on a weak smile. "I—I will—I'm sure Jaune is around. You go and meet with your sister. I'll see you later."

As Ruby turned away, Weiss grabbed her by the arm and turned her back. "I love you, you dolt."

"I love you too," Ruby spoke softly and they shared a very gentle kiss before Weiss hesitantly exited the room in search of her sister.

As soon as she shut the door behind her she let out a sigh and shook her head. Trying to get through the Ruby was hard on most days but days like today, where she constantly felt sorry for herself and didn't act like she wanted to get better at all were exceptionally exhausting.

In the small moments, Ruby was everything Weiss loved. She was fun and kind and affectionate—she made Weiss' stomach to flips and kept her constantly on her toes.

However, when Weiss took a step back and looked at the future, she had a hard time fitting Ruby into it simply because Ruby seemed so stagnant now. With her father and uncle gone and Yang constantly off on missions, Ruby had sunk deep into self shame and constantly beating herself down.

Weiss wanted to help and tried as much as she could. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder if she was a part of the problem.

* * *

"Weiss!" Winter's voice made Weiss jump in her chair and nearly spill her coffee. The two of them sat in the conference room of the hotel and were discussing their next move when Weiss' mind drifted off to wonder what Ruby might be up to. "Are you part of the solution here or part of the problem?"

"Wh—what?" Weiss mumbled as Winter's words echoed those in her own mind. "I was listening."

"Were you?" Winter raised her eyebrows high. "What did I say?"

"You were talking about…" Weiss cringed—she really had no idea. The last thing she remembered was Winter bringing up how they needed to avoid Atlas. "You said that if we wanted to skirt around the ships of the Atlesian military we needed to travel by water and not in the air."

Winter's eyes narrowed. "We discussed that yesterday, Weiss. You were much more attentive yesterday and I'm beginning to wonder what's changed today. You're barely here and remember, sister, _you_ asked to be involved in this."

"I want to be involved!" Weiss squeaked angrily. "I'm your sister, I shouldn't have had to ask!"

"I'm a military strategist, Weiss. I didn't bring you in because you have always wished to be a fighter."

"You brought Blake in – you talk to her about these things and always go to Yang when you want to do your own training! I just wanted to be a part of it!"

"And you are, but you're barely paying attention. I'm asking you questions and you sit in silence." Winter leaned back in her chair, the sun dripping through the window and across her face. In this light, she looked so much older and stern – but there was still genuine concern in her eyes.

Though she had no real memory to go off of, Weiss couldn't help but think she looked like their mother.

"I'm sorry, Winter. I have a lot on my mind."

Winter sighed. "We all do, Weiss." She watched her sister's shoulders relax and she leaned forward in her chair with her elbows on the table. "If you wish—I would be willing to listen to your problems and offer the expected, sisterly advice."

Weiss narrowed a suspicious stare in her direction. "You act like you already know my problem."

"Because I do," Winter said simply – upsetting Weiss immediately.

"What then? If you're so smart, you tell—"

"It's Ruby," Winter rolled her eyes and Weiss winced. "Of course it's Ruby, it's always Ruby. That's the only place your mind ever goes is to that girl."

"That's not true!"

Another eyebrow raised and Weiss wanted to shave them both off when Winter was sleeping. "Well she's dealing with a lot! I worry about her." Her voice trailed off as she admitted it. As many times as Weiss heard Ruby say she was okay and as many times as Weiss calmly accepted it—she knew that Ruby was not. "She hasn't been sleeping."

"That's because she's depressed, Weiss."

"I know that!" Weiss' voice raised much more than she expected. "I—I know that, Winter. I know she's depressed and I know she's hurting. What I _don't_ know is how to help her."

Winter shrugged. "Perhaps you shouldn't."

To hear those words come from Winter's mouth felt like a punch in the stomach. Weiss would have expected them from their father, but not Winter. "W—what? How can you say that? I love her!"

"I'm not denying that, Weiss. I am simply stating the truth that love is not always enough. Despite what the fairly tales may say, love does not always conquer all."

With each word, Weiss debated leaving this room and running back to Ruby. She didn't want to hear this – it was no sisterly advice. It was just plain wrong. "I'm not going to abandon her."

"I'm not telling you to abandon her. I'm merely telling you that you shouldn't coddle her either."

"I don't!"

"Oh?" Winter crossed her arms over her chest. "When was the last time you made her do anything for herself? She hasn't touched her weapon since we came up here and since Qrow left I have not yet seen her sit down and actually talk to someone about what she's thinking or going through. Instead she locks herself away in her room and the only one who sees her is you. With Yang gone, Ruby is using you as a crutch. It is unhealthy and unfair to you – to both of you."

Weiss wasn't sure what to say—she felt like she should defend herself but she…couldn't. Winter was right, Ruby had made zero progress in the last few weeks. If anything – she'd regressed significantly.

For Weiss, it was easy to deal with Ruby's sadness. They could talk or kiss or do…other things and Ruby would laugh and smile and feel good. In their room they could pretend the rest of the world didn't exist and it would be just the two of them. Only Weiss was the one who came out into the real world while Ruby stayed behind and simply waited for Weiss to return.

Weiss could pretend all she wanted, but Ruby was nowhere near ready to do anything right now. She was simply hiding and if there really was a war coming and Ruby wasn't ready to fight – she was going to die.

They both would, because Weiss wouldn't be able to live in a world without Ruby Rose.

"What do I do?" She asked with desperation licking in her voice.

Winter's annoyed expression fell away and she sighed before scooting her chair closer to the table between them. "You need to decide what role you want to play in Ruby's life and you need to remember that you matter just as much as she does."

"I don't—"

"Weiss, you do and thinking like that is only going to come back and hurt you. Do you honestly believe that Ruby would let you believe that you matter less than she does? That she wouldn't do whatever she could to make sure you were okay?"

"I am okay though, she's the one who's not."

Winter nodded. "And that's because you allow her to be. You comfort her and you love her and it makes her feel safe but it's not making her progress in any way. You must decide if you want to be Ruby's partner or if you want to be Ruby's escape."

Weiss shook her head. "No, Ruby's not like that. She wouldn't—if she knew she was using me to make herself feel better she would stop."

"Key word, Weiss. _If_ she knew, she does not. She is not in the right frame of mind to see that she's taking advantage of your love for her. She refuses to train, she refuses to talk to anyone and she refuses to try because you reward her no matter what she does. You need to push her to be better – push her to find herself again. The Ruby Rose that I met at Beacon was determined and strong willed. She was a leader and she fought even after her team was taken from her. The girl you're with now, quite frankly, is a coward."

"She's hurting!"

"We're all hurting!" Winter slammed her hands down on the table. "We've all lost things, Weiss. We've all seen horrible things and watched as people we cared about died. Our father is a piece of garbage who struck you and called your horrific things and threatened you and yet you get up each morning and train to improve. Yang lost an arm, Blake fought against an entire organization that raised her and they are all still fighting. Ruby was thrown into this fire far too young and I understand that. I have heard the stories from her uncle and I know it's not easy. But Ruby must grow up and find her way or she will drag the both of you down and _I_ will bury you while Yang buries Ruby and big sisters do not recover from that, Weiss."

Weiss fought back the tears, she fought back all of her emotions because breaking down in front of Winter was unacceptable. She wanted to prove she could do this, that she could carry the burden and do what needed to be done.

"You haven't answered my question, Winter. What do I do?"

There was a silence between them for a few moments before Winter finally removed her lip from between her teeth and spoke. "You have to push her – make her decide if she really wants to make progress and get through this. Do something to get her going, even if it's something drastic. Just do not let her keep hiding. It's not good for her."

The way Winter spoke, whether intentional or not, made Weiss feel awful. It made her feel as if she were the one holding Ruby back – by coddling her and _loving_ her as unconditionally as she did it had allowed Ruby to slip even further because she didn't have to fight. They would cuddle and kiss and enjoy one another, all the while Ruby was falling. She was so caught up in the feelings and the blossoming of their relationship that she didn't even see it.

_That's because you're selfish, Weiss. Just like everyone always says you are._

"Okay – I'll talk to her."

* * *

Before returning to Ruby later that evening, Weiss decided to get in a quick training session at the downstairs gym to burn off some of her anxiety. It was a good workout and she probably pushed herself just a little too much because her legs felt like jelly as she stood in the elevator with sweat beading down her neck.

Still, it felt good and she was more relaxed then she had been hours earlier and was prepared to have a nice, long chat with Ruby about their future.

Perhaps after a meal and a quick shower – by herself because Ruby had a thing about them showering together and frankly Weiss hadn't had a proper wash in weeks.

As she entered the room, she was met with the strong scent of vanilla and roses. The roses came from Ruby and her semblance, the vanilla was one of Weiss' candles. The room itself was very dimly lit, save for the flickering lights coming from the bathroom. Weiss narrowed her eyes – was Ruby taking a bath? With her candles? Without _her_?

She put her training bag down and stomped into the bathroom. "Ruby Rose, you had better not have opened one of my new candles without…asking…first." Weiss took in the sight of the bathroom and lost her train of thought entirely.

Ruby was sitting on the edge of the tub, still fully clothed and tracing her fingers in the water as it continued to run and fill the tub. There were, in fact, candles along the edge that were new, but they were decorated neatly to light the tub just right and in the water were rose petals that looked awfully familiar.

When Ruby finally looked up at her, she smiled and Weiss' previous frustrations wilted away. "I had to run in some extra bubbles since you were gone a little longer then I expected but…I thought you might want to take a nice bath after your long day."

There were so many little moments where Weiss was reminded why she loved Ruby so much. Because Ruby was the first person Weiss had ever met that put her first. The Schnee name immediately made Weiss a target for people who _wanted_ something. They wanted money or an in to her father or an in to her bedroom. They all wanted something from her, but Ruby was different. When they first met, Ruby didn't even know who she was or what her name meant.

Even still, years later – she was a priority to Ruby and someone Ruby liked making happy.

For Weiss, it was nights like tonight and moments like this that made it hard to push back against the girl she loved. Because Ruby was so good at making her feel special.

"You did this?" Weiss asked as she instinctively moved closer to Ruby with some strong need to be close to her.

Ruby must have sensed it too because she patted her knee and Weiss sat down in her lap

"You're all sweaty," Ruby said with a chuckle as she ran a finger through Weiss' bangs.

"I—I was exercising."

"Stressful day?"

Weiss frowned. "How'd you know."

"Because you didn't have a scheduled workout today and you only go off schedule when you're stressed. I figured as much when you didn't come back on time and thus, the fancy bath time."

"Well," Weiss sighed as she rested her head against Ruby's shoulder. When they were alone like this, Weiss felt comfortable enough to be clingy and affectionate. She loved it – loved letting herself need from another person and Ruby was always very giving. "I suppose it was quite thoughtful of you. Though I am still upset you opened my new candles."

"The old ones were all misshapen and wouldn't stay on the edge of this tub."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's because this bathtub is cheap. I mean—there aren't even any water jets or whirlpools."

"You're so fussy," Ruby teased before poking Weiss in the side.

"Stop that!" Weiss chided only to be poked again.

"Stop what, fussy pants?"

"Stop…poking me!" Weiss tried not to laugh as Ruby hit a particularly sensitive spot. "Ruby Rose!" The actions stopped and Weiss glanced down to see a pair of silver eyes staring at her. "You're a pest."

"I'm your pest."

"You always say that."

Ruby shrugged. "It's always true."

Weiss pouted but it didn't last because she needed those lips to kiss Ruby as sweetly as she could. Ruby graciously accepted the advance and Weiss felt fingertips tracing along her cheeks as the kiss deepened for a moment before Ruby suddenly pulled away just as Weiss started shifting to get more comfortable.

"Hey! I was just getting started!"

Ruby smirked and stood up, causing Weiss to do the same. "I know, and that's why we stopped. Your bath will get cold."

Tilting her head, Weiss crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe I like it cold, I am the ice queen after all."

"You don't," Ruby's hands were suddenly untying the laces on Weiss' boots. "You take scalding hot showers that make me look as red as my cape when I get out."

"Well nobody says you have to shower with me," Weiss lifted her foot as Ruby slipped the boot off and started on the second. "Or you could, I don't know, tell me that it's too hot."

"I could," Ruby removed the other boot and threw it to the side before standing up again. "But I'm usually very distracted by all your naked bits."

"Do not call them bits, I have told you not to call them bits."

"Aww Weiss, don't be like that – I don't mean anything bad by it. It's not about size."

"Are you saying I have _small_ bits?"

Ruby's eyes went wide and Weiss found herself an opening. Ruby thought she'd actually upset her. "What? No! Weiss I think your bits is wonderful! You know that – I've told you that in my ramblings over and over again about how soft and smooth and strong and wonderful and amazing your body is! Nothing is too small or too big or too anything. It's amazing, it's—"

She cut Ruby off with a kiss before running her hands up the back of Ruby's neck and into her hair. Ruby shivered at the contact and Weiss took that as an opening to start undoing the laces of Ruby's corset. "Will you join me?" Weiss asked as their lips were inches apart.

"I—I don't know how relaxing that'll be."

Weiss smiled and kissed Ruby's nose. "It's what I want though."

With that, Ruby reached up and pulled her corset off the rest of the way. "Well this night _is_ about you."

Grinning from ear to ear, Weiss leaned forward to drop a kiss on the apex of Ruby's neck and shoulder. Before she could though, she caught sight of all the rose petals in the tub.

"How did you get all those petals in here?" Weiss asked with a whisper into Ruby's skin. "What? Did you run around in circles and make them with your semblance?" When Ruby froze against her Weiss thought she might have a stroke. Weiss pulled back and met the guilty eyes of her girlfriend. "You ran circles in the bathroom didn't you?"

"I did it for you!"

Weiss sighed and decided that she would let this nonsense slide tonight as she raised her arms at her sides and lifted her chin dramatically. "Ruby, disrobe me."

Ruby snorted with laughter before saluting. "Yes, ma'am!"

_Tomorrow, she'd have her talk with Ruby tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the break but I think the updates might be a bit more scattered now. Hopefully just as consistent, but probably not on any specific day. Keeping to a schedule is stressful and I just don't write as well that way. I need time to develop stuff and, often times, change stuff lol. Also I am working on another, simpler White Rose fic that will probably come out some time in the next few weeks. I want to write these characters, I just have a lot of different plot bunnies bouncing around in my head. So thank you for your patience and support. I hope you enjoyed this chapter - feedback is always greatly appreciated and helps tremendously.


	6. Bathroom Blitz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so...it's been a while lol. I don't really have an excuse for it - I just needed to step away for a bit after the entirety of Run and then this. It was daunting. Foxtrot has been a great reprieve and I promise that I am still writing it and will finish it. I just wanted to get back into this too because it deserves a proper ending as well.   
> So we start back up with Search. There will be more coming very soon (I'll probably alternate updates per week. Next week Foxtrot, then this the following. Though Foxtrot will finish well before this series does)   
> Anyway, thank you for reading and for your patience and continued support. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

"So how long has it been?" Yang leaned against the frame of the door as she watched Nora dig through her closet and pull out Magnhild. She studied the way Nora moved, the delicacy with which she lifted her hammer and knew it had been a while.

Nora laughed softly. "Way too long!" She cried before running her hand over the weapon. "Three years probably?" Her voice was much more reserved than usual with that sentence and she smiled sadly. "I put her in here to get her out of the way, I told myself over and over and over again that I'd take her out at least once a week to go train and run through the woods. Even if I was just smashing it into the ground I was going to give my girl a good workout."

"Then life got in the way?" Yang asked the question she already knew the answer too and Nora nodded. "Don't feel bad – after Beacon fell I think most of us were hesitant to get back out there. I know I was."

"But you're here now!" Nora boasted as her energy seemed to come back. "You look strong and have that cool, fancy, high tech arm and you even managed to snag yourself a little pu—"

"Ah!" Yang cut her off hastily. "Nora, I've missed you, but if you finish that sentence I might have to throw you out the window."

"Or I will!" Blake's voice rang from downstairs where she was helping Ren with his packing. Probably helping Ren more than Yang was helping Nora.

Yang took in the look of horror on Nora's face. "Well, she does have _four_ ears."

"Yeah what is that like? I mean…do they _all_ work? Are the human ears just for show? Oh! Are they fake?! Did she glue them on to blend in and now they're just stuck there and she can't get them off?"

"They're very real and they can hear you, Nora!" Blake hollered again and Yang smiled. Blake was still Blake in so many ways. She was reserved and quiet – sometimes she could be distant. She still tried to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders and every problem in the world seemed to be her own.

Yet, for as much as Blake was the same, she'd changed as well. She found more humor in the world and the main thing Yang noticed, Blake smiled more. While she doubted Blake was smiling now, seeing it more often was everything for Yang. It was comforting and welcoming – it was beautiful. More so than anything else, it was reassuring.

Reassuring to Yang that she was doing okay – that Blake was happy and had no intention of running away.

A dangerous thought that still lingered in the back of Yang's mind every day.

"Okay, found my hammer – I assume Rennie has all he needs. You ready to go?"

"You two are the ones leaving your home behind – when you're ready, we'll be ready."

Nora sighed and looked around their bedroom once more. It was definitely a space that had a very temporary feel to it. Nothing in this room spoke of Ren and Nora. There were no pictures on the walls, no unique decorations or even furniture that looked like it wasn't already here when they moved in.

When Nora moved to stand next to her, Yang understood that Nora didn't have any real attachment to this home. "We're ready – we should go see our kids at the school though."

"Yeah what's the story with that? Who's going to run it now?"

Nora frowned and Yang finally saw what was keeping them here. "We have other teachers that help us so they'll be taking over. They've _assured_ us that they're going to keep doing what Ren wants and letting kids who need a place to go have one. They better or I'll come back here with my hammer and…well…you remember."

"Break their legs?" Yang smirked and Nora nodded furiously.

"I will destroy those legs, Yang! Turn them into mush!"

Throwing her arm over Nora's shoulder, Yang guided her out of the room. "Come on then, let's go see your kiddos."

"You were a huntress?!" One of the boys at the school had said this at least four times as he took in the sight of Nora's weapon as she showed it off for everyone and continued to try and coax Ren into doing the same.

Ren refused, again, because his was too sharp and too dangerous. Instead he told them stories of some of the Grimm he'd seen and how he was going to get back to helping people.

Yang and Blake hung back, standing in the doorway as Ren and Nora worked their magic with these kids. Kids had always come easy to Yang – probably because she raised her own when she was five years old. Ruby was her responsibility after Summer died and her father shut down. So for Yang it was do or die and she wasn't about to let Ruby not make it through. Perhaps it was wrong of her to take on so much at such a young age. Maybe it did mess her up as she got older, but she wouldn't go back and not do everything she'd done then. If anything, she'd do it better and push her father even more to drag himself out of bed and help her.

Yang never had a Ren or a Nora to go to and find support – so seeing them with these kids made her want to grab Blake and run so they didn't take away these kids' support system.

"Just remember that we need them," Blake whispered to Yang and drew her attention. "I see the look on your face and I know what you're thinking."

Rolling her eyes, Yang bumped Blake's hip with her own. "Stay out of my head."

"It's kind of hard to, you project a lot through those big eyes of yours."

Yang sighed. "They're so good with them and these kids seem to really love them."

"They do," Blake observed and crossed her arms a little tighter. "And they can come back if they wish after we're done but for now we need them to help deal with all of this and make sure there's a safe world for these kids to grow up in."

There was more to Yang's argument that she decided to keep to herself. In the end, she knew Blake was right – they needed help. Still, safety was so narrow for kids and it really only mattered by what was around them. The world was safe when Yang grew up. There was no impending threat and the Grimm were controlled. But because she grew up without a mother and with a father who'd lost hope – Yang's childhood was scary and uncertain. At times it didn't feel safe at all and she didn't want to see any of these kids growing up like that. Especially not if she was the one taking their safety away from them.

Her fingers suddenly danced across the cool metal of her right arm and she was hit with a wave of uncertainty that nearly overwhelmed her. Her legs were shaky as she thought about how dangerous this life was – of all the thing she'd lost or had never come back to her. Was it really right to ask these two to return to that?

"I uh – I have to use the bathroom." Yang backed up to the door and ignored Blake's worried look.

"Okay? Do you know where it—"

"I do," Yang interrupted and quickly left to find a bit of reprieve from the scene of Ren and Nora talking to their kids. She jogged quickly through the hallway and slipped into the tiny bathroom stall. She was pretty sure she'd stumbled into the kid's bathroom but she just needed some quiet.

These were the moments when she wished she was back home with her garden. As much as Yang didn't want to admit it, she was scared – terrified. It wasn't even for herself – after all she'd had moments after Beacon where she thought death might take away her misery. She never wanted to die, but she certainly wasn't afraid of it.

No, Yang was afraid of living. Living in a world where Ruby had died, or Blake, or Weiss. Where the blood in the streets was blood on her hands for dragging more people into this fight.

Her stomach twisted with guilt as she closed her eyes and took a few breaths to try and calm down. As she turned on the sink, Yang pooled a bit of water in her hand and pushed it into her face.

When she was younger and the idea of being a huntress was nothing more than the fantasy of fighting with monsters and living a life of adventure, Yang never wanted anything else. It seemed so cool. With all the stories her uncle would tell her and the things she would read about in the texts. She never really wondered about the other side of it – never questioned why her uncle drank so much or why her father was always quieter when he'd come back from a hunt.

This life _was_ filled with adventure and excitement but that all came with an incredibly steep price – one that they had all paid in some way.

Only when her own price had been paid and nearly drown her, did she realize that it wasn't a fantasy at all – it was a sacrifice.

Shaking her head to try and rid herself of the negative thoughts, Yang turned the faucet off and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked and felt so much better than she had just months earlier and with her new arm, she actually was a useful part of the team again.

That didn't mean her fears were gone. It didn't remove the doubt in her mind that something might happen to her or to Blake or Weiss and Ruby. They'd suffered so much when Beacon fell – Yang wasn't sure she could handle another five-year recovery if they lost another battle.

"We have a three-minute bathroom rule," Ren spoke through the door and Yang grinned. "If you take longer then three minutes we check to make sure you're okay."

"What if a kid is taking a massive poop?" She couldn't help herself and enjoyed the sound of Ren laughing.

"Well then they let us know and we leave them alone." Yang really had missed Ren and Nora both – even if they didn't spend as much time together as they did with their own teams, Yang always considered Ren an important part of her life. They trained together a lot and he helped her work on her flexibility and channeling her aura to release it at more opportune times. Lie Ren was a good person, plain and simple and Yang was glad to have him back in her life. "Are you currently…doing that?"

Yang laughed and opened the door. "Nope!" She put her hands behind her back and tilted her head as he rolled his eyes. "Just doing some thinking. Trying to keep a clear head before we go."

"Something on your mind?"

She shrugged. "Always, but it's nothing important. Just…stresses of the job, I suppose."

Ren crossed his arms and Yang could tell that he wasn't about to let that go. She was mad at herself for not hiding it better. "It's not good to keep those stresses inside. If you like, I'd be welcome to listening to whatever is on your mind."

"You mean as you come along with us back to places you don't even know about for missions you have no knowledge of?"

This made him shrug. "I trust you, and Blake."

"It's dangerous, Ren. You and Nora seem to have something really great here."

He nodded and she watched him take in the surroundings. This building was seemingly built on the memories he and Nora had put together. There were pictures of them with so many kids, doing so many things. The ceilings had makings and art literally drawn onto the walls. It was warm and safe, it felt like a home and Yang hated that she was dragging them away from it.

"We do and we have for many years. Nora and I have built a life, but we also understand how fragile that life is. We were there when Beacon fell – we lost a teammate."

Yang grimaced, they had _not_ told Ren and Nora about Pyrrha yet because it was something you really had to see to believe. She wasn't sure how they would react because Pyrrha wasn't exactly Pyrrha anymore. Even though she _was_ back they had still lost her and still spent the last five years grieving her and that wasn't anything that could magically be erased.

The pain of losing something doesn't go away, even if that something is given back to you.

"It always comes back to Beacon, doesn't it?"

Ren nodded. "It always will – that day defined our futures."

" _This_ could be your future."

"It would be too hard for us to sit back and refuse your offer knowing that there is something coming. If it is as you say, enough to track us down and ask for help, we both agreed we couldn't stay behind. We want to help, Yang. That's nothing for you to feel guilt over."

Yang frowned. "We could have not told you at all. Let you continue this blissful life."

"To read in the news one day that more of our friends had been taken in a war we didn't contribute to? I prefer this alternative."

"What makes you think we would die?" She wasn't sure why she asked – she knew exactly why they could die. Perhaps she needed more reassurance.

Ren shrugged. "I'm not one to be arrogant, but I do believe your chances of survival will increase with our added presence."

"Gonna save my life, Ren?" Yang smirked and crossed her arms with a hint of defiance.

He simply put his hands behind his back and bowed. "It would be my honor, Yang Xiao Long."

Yang never had trouble sleeping on airships or in cars – basically any form of travel could put her to sleep. The airship that Winter had booked them on was pretty fancy compared to what Yang was used to. First class on these things always seemed so silly to her – as if you needed a warm towel or a slightly bigger bag of peanuts to eat. That's what she assumed it was from the vids but the truth was so much better and all about the leg room.

There was _so much_ leg room.

Peeking one eye open, she looked over at Blake beside her and saw that her partner was intently reading one of the biggest books Yang had ever seen and doing that adorable thing she did where her tongue stuck out through her lips as she concentrated.

With a turn of her head, she saw that Ren was doing the same, reading, but with Nora laying across the chair with her head on his shoulder fast asleep. Yang wondered how he put up with her – not that she was a problem, she was just so in the moment and wild and Ren seemed so reserved. It was…

_A bit like looking in a mirror_ , Yang thought before refocusing back on Blake.

Blake had put up with a lot from Yang – the jokes and the teasing. Once Yang opened back up to Blake completely and let her guard down, it was easy to fall into the old habits.

Still, Blake didn't seem to mind, if anything her face would light up when Yang would tickle her or tease her. Being with Blake now was more than Yang ever could have hoped for. Even the days when she was alone in Patch and actually let herself wonder what it might be like to actually _have_ Blake in her life again, it was never like this.

Reaching up, Yang brushed her thumb gently across the back of Blake's left ear and stroked the soft…

"Is this fur or hair?" She asked in a quiet voice while continuing her ministrations.

She watched as Blake placed a finger on the page of her book to hold her place and a pair of yellow eyes turned to her. "The ears are fur; the hair is…hair."

"Huh," Yang couldn't help but notice how Blake moved into her touch. "Well they're the softest things I've ever felt and I kind of love them."

"Huh, so you have an ear fetish – noted."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Don't make it weird."

"You're the one petting me."

"Don't make it creepy."

Blake shrugged. "I must enjoy it; I keep coming back."

Yang couldn't stop herself, she leaned across the chair and kissed Blake's temple. "And I appreciate that." She then pulled away and stood up. "I'm going to use the restroom but when I get back we're gonna curl up and nap until we get back to the others."

"Guess I better finish my book then." Blake said before returning to her gigantic book and making Yang chuckle.

Slipping through the aisle, Yang made her way to the bathroom and stopped as she was met with someone waiting in front of the door. Throwing her head back, she sighed. "Looks like first class has to deal with bathroom lines just like everyone else, huh?" She said to the woman in front of her.

The woman's shoulders tightened. "Guess so," she said in a raspy and forced voice without turning around. Not everyone was up for random conversations with strangers – Yang just found it easier to get through the day when she tried.

Instead of forcing the conversation, Yang decided to examine this person in front of her. She was extremely well built and stood with a presence of someone who knew how to fight. Yang took in the mass of her arms and shoulders and how thick her back was. This was a fighter – Yang wasn't sure what kind, but this woman had seen battle before.

As the wait seemed to carry on, Yang felt someone move in behind her and glanced back as another woman came up to the line. This one was about four inches taller than her and Yang immediately caught sight of the fact that she had her hand tucked into her jacket pocket and was doing her best _not_ to look anywhere near Yang.

The alarm bells went off immediately. From the woman in front who wouldn't turn around to this one who wouldn't look down at her – Yang felt a sense of dread and slowly reached for her scroll. She didn't pull it out of her pocket because she didn't want to draw any attention to it, but she knew how to get to her recent calls without looking and only hoped the last person she called was Blake.

"So," she could hear the outgoing ring in her pocket. "Person in there must be taking a pretty big dump." She turned around to face the woman behind her and was about to make a move when something wrapped around her neck from behind.

Yang felt her throat seize and was jerked backwards towards the door. The second woman came up and quickly shoved the three of them into the bathroom and that's when Yang realized there was no one actually in here – this was all a set up.

She felt a barrage of fists land on her stomach and ribs, knocking the breath out of her. With the tension around her neck, she couldn't make any audible noises but only hoped Blake had answered and could hear the struggle.

Fights never really scared Yang but this one was different because she couldn't breathe and with that she was unable to use her semblance to draw power from the blows being struck on her. Instead, her vision started to blur and she could feel her feet starting to numb as she faded.

Blake might not be coming. She might not have called Blake at all – she had to do something.

With all she had, Yang threw her elbow back and felt it crash against something soft. The tension around her neck loosened and she used that moment of reprieve to throw all of her body weight back and sent the woman behind her crashing into the wall.

That still left the giant in front of her and Yang was suddenly grabbed by the hair and slammed, face first, into the sink that shattered on the contact. Her aura took most of the hit, but the impact still made her dizzy.

She sent a kick up and caught the giant in the stomach before pushing to her feet and throwing her prosthetic fist directly into her jaw. It shattered through any aura on impact and sent her assailant to the ground.

Movement behind her grabbed Yang's attention and suddenly she felt something move over her head. Raising her hand up, she caught the tie around her neck just before it locked in again and held it away from her throat. A pair of knee strikes hit her lower back but Yang reacted and caught the leg when the third attempt came. She pulled her attackers legs right out from under her and sent her crashing to the ground. With the leg still in hand, Yang twisted it just right and heard the ankle snap and a scream bellow out.

_One down_

The other was slowly starting to stand again, blood pouring from her mouth and fury in her eyes. If it was possible, this made her even more intimidating.

Yang was still a little loopy and had a mouthful of blood, but she raised her hands, ready to fight when suddenly a hammer smacked the woman on the side of the head and knocked her out completely.

There stood Nora, hammer out and look of annoyance on her face.

"Nora," Yang panted and lowered her fists. "Did – did I call you?"

"What?" Nora waved her off. "No, I just really had to pee."

Exhaling, Yang fell to a knee and spit the blood from her mouth.

"Yang!" There she was. "What happened? Oh no, who…what?"

Yang shrugged. "These bathroom lines are a real bitch." Blake was staring at her neck and Yang was sure it was bruised. She felt a cool hand touch a sensitive spot and hissed. "Ah, yeah…careful."

"I'm sorry." Blake pulled her hand away as if she'd been burned. "Who are they?" Blake asked as she looked over at the tall girl who was lying flat on her back. Blake stood up and stomped towards her before she started digging through the woman's pockets. Yang watched as she pulled out a wallet and flipped through in search of identification – having no qualms about privacy.

Blake was pissed and Yang loved it.

"Atlesian Specialists." Blake said as she displayed a military license of some kind. "How do you think they tracked us?"

Yang shrugged as Ren arrived with a wet rag and a few members of the airship staff who were freaking out about the damages and the bodies on the ground. Yang ignored them, instead opting to wipe the blood from her mouth. "I don't know, but if they knew where we were going then they know where we came from and that means it's not safe. Call Winter and figure out our next step. We can't stay there."

As Yang tried to clean her face, Blake nodded before putting down the woman's wallet and trotting over to her. She knelt down and took the cloth from Yang's hand. "Let me," she said before dabbing it softly along Yang's lips. "You bruised up really bad, why didn't you use your aura?"

"Kinda hard when you can't breathe. I was too slow – guess I'm not as combat ready as I hoped."

Blake sighed. "I don't think any of us are."

"Suppose we better turn up the training when we get to our next spot, huh?"

"Wouldn't hurt," Blake finished her cleaning and stared into Yang's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Yang noted the tone of genuine worry in Blake's voice and dropped any perceived smirk from her face and gave a truthful nod. "I'm okay."

With that, Blake stood and pulled Yang up with her. "Come on, let's go take that nap."

"After all this? What if they get up?"

"Oh, I've got something for em if they do." Nora said with a deranged laugh as she spun her hammer.

"Ma'am, could you please not wield that on the airship?" One of the staff said and Blake winced when Nora dropped the hammer and the entire ship swayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang always getting into trouble. Thoughts?


	7. Weakness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up for those reading both of my current fics - I wanted to give this one another chapter to keep the momentum going but Foxtrot will be updated next. Thank you for the support and for reading. It means the world to me :)

As soon as she took the first hit, Ruby realized that Winter was not going to take it easy on her.

With a mountain of trepidation, Ruby agreed to finally let herself take on some hand to hand combat training and when she stepped up to spar with Winter, she hoped it would be slow and enough to get her back into the flow of combat – it wasn't.

Winter held nothing back, her strikes were devastating and completely busting through Ruby's aura hit by hit. Whenever Ruby tried to strike, she was countered. If she tried to block or parry away, Winter would move quicker to make sure she took another hit. It was demoralizing and embarrassing how easily she was being picked apart.

Even her speed was useless. She would turn on her semblance to try and move but Winter would be waiting when she slowed and strike her again.

"Ruby, you can stop!" Weiss screamed out from where she was watching after Ruby had taken a kick to the chest and was sent flying into the wall.

Her aura was nearly gone as she pushed up on her hands and knees to try and stand. It took a great deal of effort, but Ruby managed to find her footing again and put her hands up. She was here, she'd built up her courage to fight and wasn't going to quit.

Her eyes narrowed on Winter, who stood ready for another attack. Ruby took a deep breath, concentrating all of her speed and power into one strike to finally knock Winter back. She flew fast and spun her whole body to build momentum. However, before it could build up enough, Winter was in her personal space and Ruby's arms flailed weakly to try and punch or smack or do _anything_.

That was when Winter wrapped her arm around Ruby's neck and _that_ was when Ruby started to struggle breathing.

Winter had her in a choke hold and was not being gentle.

_She's going to kill me. Oh no she's going to kill me in front of Weiss and I can't get out of this!_

Ruby kicked and fought with everything she had, but the pressure was too much and her vision started to go white along the edges.

Right before Ruby tried to throw her entire body weight back against Winter, the hold was released and she crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Winter! You hurt her!" Weiss chided and Ruby hated it. Hated the concern in Weiss' voice – hated how protective and overbearing it sounded.

She hated how true it was.

She hated how easily she'd been beaten.

On all fours, Ruby felt Winter touch her back and then help her up. "My apologies if I injured you, Ruby. But I felt it was necessary to show you just how easily you can be defeated. I want you to take this and understand that you must improve. It's not meant to belittle you, it's meant to make you take notice."

Ruby was going to agree with Winter, if anything admit that Winter had soundly defeated her and admit that she was useless in battle.

However, before she could say a word, Weiss was suddenly between them and _right_ in Winter's face.

"Did that make you feel better, Winter? Treating her like that? Hurting her? Embarrassing her? Did you do your due diligence as our _leader_?" With both hands, Weiss shoved Winter backwards and the eldest Schnee stumbled into the wall with a look of genuine surprise.

"I was proving a point!"

"You were being a bully!"

"I am trying to keep you both alive!" Weiss looked ready to fight and Ruby thought about stepping between them, but after that display she wasn't sure what she could actually do to stop anything – not to mention that her body felt like jelly. "Ruby," Winter spoke directly to her. "If you want help, I can provide it – but you have to want it and you have to be willing to accept that you need it."

"She's fine!" Weiss barked and took a step towards her sister. "I can take care of Ruby."

"Weiss," Ruby's voice broke through and even surprised her. There were so many emotions in the room and Ruby was so beaten down that she couldn't even find the strength to hold back. "I – I…Winter, how can you help me?"

She could see Winter's eyes widen, clearly not expecting any sort of acceptance. "Firstly, I can continue to train you."

"Ruby," Weiss tried but Ruby shook her head, asking with a look for Weiss to be quiet.

For once, Weiss conceded and held her tongue. "There's more to it than that."

"I know. We've discussed your PTSD before but never at length. I am not skilled enough in psychology to properly assist you through that, but I know someone who is and if you wish, we can plan our next move to go to him and he can help you."

Ruby could _feel_ Weiss staring at her and there were so many unspoken things between them right now. Ruby had told Weiss, countless times, that she was okay and whether Weiss believed her or not was irrelevant now because she was speaking out to Winter and not holding back.

She wasn't sure why it was coming out now, but to be so physically beaten down was scary. She didn't want her lack of skill to put Weiss or Yang or anyone else in danger. If she was going to stay with these people she loved, she had to be better and it was no longer something she could run from.

Without looking at Weiss, Ruby nodded. "I—I want help." She swore she saw Winter smile.

"Then I'll make a few calls and we'll start prepping to move once your sister and Blake have returned. We've lingered here too long as it is." Winter's gaze trailed over to Weiss and she visibly stiffened before taking a step back. "You two should…speak. You've taken a big step today, Ruby. It's not easy to ask for help."

With that, Winter turned and left and Ruby was alone with Weiss but still hadn't found the courage to look at her.

However, she didn't have the chance, because before she could Weiss had turned and raced away in a flurry of white.

Ruby knew she should chase after her, but she was sore and tired and instead found a bench and sat down, burying her face in her hands and letting herself cry.

How could she have let it all fall apart so much?

* * *

Three hours later, Ruby still hadn't spoken to Weiss. Instead she was at the dock, waiting for Yang and Blake's airship to arrive.

She sat on a small bench a few feet away from where Sun and Jaune, who'd accompanied her along with Neptune, were chatting animatedly about something as they pointed out the window.

Ruby was still extremely sore as she sat and waited for Yang to arrive. Yang had told them that she had very important stuff they needed to talk about so Ruby was naturally worried but she couldn't seem to focus solely on her sister. All she could think about was this morning and how hurt Weiss looked

The worst part was, Weiss and Ruby both seemed to understand that every time Ruby said she was okay, Weiss knew she wasn't. Yet, because they were in their own world in that hotel room, neither of them ever confronted it and now it had come to a head and was prepared to explode.

"The bathrooms in this place are disgusting. I'm pretty sure there was poop on the walls." Neptune said with a huff as he sat down next to Ruby and wiped his hands with a wet cloth. "I don't know if it was poop, but it was something. I should file some kind of complaint. Where do you think I'd go to do that?"

Ruby wasn't inclined to answer – no she was too busy in her own head worrying about what Weiss might be doing right now. Worried what Weiss must be thinking about the lies and the secrets. How could they recover from that? Would Weiss even want to? Could Weiss trust her? Ruby had only lied because she was scared. She didn't want to have anymore taken away from her.

She didn't—

"Ruby?" Neptune spoke again and Ruby growled.

"What, Neptune? What do you want? Do you want to go find someone to complain at cause the bathrooms were dirty? Did the smell ruin your super cool day – did the poo discolor your blue hair? What do you want?"

Neptune looked as if Ruby had insulted his goggles as he coiled away from her and Ruby could see Sun and Jaune watching them from where they stood as well.

A wave of guilt washed over her and Ruby felt even worse. "S—sorry…I'm sorry, Neptune. It's been a bad day and I'm cranky and you don't deserve to be on the bad end of that and I'm sorry." She stood up in a flurry and nearly tripped over her own two feet. "I'll leave you alone, I'll just—"

"Hey," Neptune suddenly grabbed her hand and Ruby looked at him only to find a soft smile on his face. "Bad days suck – don't apologize for that."

Ruby wanted to hug him, she just wanted to hug anyone who would sit down and listen to her. The problem with that was, she didn't even know what to say – where to start. She wanted to go back in time to Beacon and be fifteen again. She wanted her future to be bright and her life to be fun. She was tired of being tired and sick of being afraid.

"Who died?" They all turned at the voice and Ruby caught the bright orange hair of Nora Valkyrie with a heavy pout on her lips as she looked at all her friends standing somberly along the boarding dock.

"Seriously, nobody died right?" Yang asked with a slight mumble that Ruby noticed immediately. "Cause that'd be kind of a downer."

"Yang your face, your lip is busted. What happened?"

"Oh man," Yang was wound up and Ruby knew immediately that she'd been in a fight. Her eyes were bright and her smile was far too wide – she was still feeding on adrenaline and coming down from her semblance. "These two ladies on the plane tried to snuff me out in the bathroom but I took them down." Nora cleared her throat loudly as she hugged Jaune. "With a little help from our hammer swinger."

"Ruby!" Nora chirped and suddenly Ruby was being engulfed from behind. "You're so much bigger now! And your hair is so long! You look adorable! Ren, doesn't she look absolutely adorable!"

Through the arms that were wrapped around her head, Ruby saw Ren smile at her. "Hello, Ruby. It's great to see you."

Ruby smiled as Nora broke her death grip. "You too, both of you – I'm really glad you decided to come."

"We couldn't miss out on _more_ fights! You guys were always taking the good fights!"

"Did Winter get our messages?" Blake asked, breaking through the happy greetings.

As far as Ruby knew, there had been no mention of messages. "I don't know. She didn't say anything? What's up?"

She couldn't help but notice the way Blake looked at Yang, questioning whether or not Ruby should know. It was such a quick look, but Ruby noticed and it hurt so much.

Fortunately, Yang nodded and stepped forward. "Those people that attacked us are Atlas Military Specialists, just like what Winter used to be before she went AWOL. If they found us on that airship, then they know where we are."

"Which means we should probably skedaddle." Nora added as the group walked through the docks and towards their rented vehicle.

"We'll need to discuss with Winter where to go next?" Blake said, more to herself than anyone in particular.

Yang answered but Ruby didn't hear her, she was too busy examining the damage to her sister's face as they approached their car. She was hit pretty hard and had some bad bruising around her neck that was fading even as they walked with her aura doing its job.

Still, her sister was attacked and nearly killed – it was another log thrown into the fire burning in Ruby's chest that she couldn't help anyone. If she'd been well, she could have come with Yang and Blake and been there to fight. She could do more, she had to do more.

* * *

Ruby was physically and emotionally drained by the time she made it back to her room. Her body hurt and her pride hurt but she felt a strange sense of purpose again that made it a bit easier.

The aches of her muscles were familiar and welcome – they were signs of an attempt, at least physically.

She knew that there was so much more she needed to fix than that, but to be able to say that she did something and she worked again, was nice.

Though that small high dissipated when she stepped into the quiet of her room and remembered who was waiting for her there.

It was an awful feeling – one she never wanted to feel again. To come into this room that she'd shared with Weiss, and feel dread at seeing her.

Things between them were shaky, and even though they'd enjoyed so many nights together, the truth was that this had been a long time coming.

It didn't surprise Ruby at all to see Weiss sitting up at the small desk doing work – she had been in the process of working out the finances for when they might leave and since that was clearly going to be happening sooner than later, Weiss was probably trying to finish as quickly as she could.

She was so focused with her work that she didn't even glance up when Ruby entered.

"Weiss," Ruby spoke tentatively and watched as Weiss' pen stopped moving.

"I apologize for missing everyone's return – I'll see them in the morning." She said before her pen started writing again.

Ruby just wanted Weiss to look at her. "I—It's okay…they were all pretty tired anyway. Did uh…did Winter tell you about everything?"

Weiss nodded. "She did, we'll all wake up early and pack our things." Her voice was so even and calm – Ruby hated it.

"Are you mad at me?"

With a sigh, Weiss finally laid her pen down. Her chair pushed back but she didn't rise from it, instead letting it spin to face Ruby. "No, Ruby. I'm not mad at you. If anything, I'm upset with myself."

"What? Why?" Ruby frowned and took a step towards Weiss, only to stop when Weiss raised her hands up.

"It's not…" she exhaled slowly. "We've really shut out the world haven't we? We spend our time in this hotel room and pretend that our relationship is perfect when both of us know that it isn't."

There was no real way for Ruby to deny that. They fit so well together, but at times it felt like a lie – as if their happiness was confined to these walls and the world was crumbling around them. "Our relationship is the one good thing I have right now," Ruby admitted and immediately knew that sounded bad. "That's a problem…isn't it?"

Weiss smiled with tears in her eyes. "It is," she sniffled and rose to her feet. As she closed the distance between them, Ruby could read her face and the sadness etched in her expression. She knew what was coming. "I love you, Ruby Rose. I want you to remember that and know that what comes next doesn't change that. I am here for you and I will be here for you no matter what."

Unable to contain a soft sob that slipped from her lips, Ruby covered her mouth and nodded. "I…love…you too."

"We need to sort out our lives away from one another and that's hard to do when we're so blissfully confined to one room together." Weiss reached up and started running her thumb across Ruby's cheek, wiping away her tears. "When we move to our new location – I've told Winter to find separate rooms for us to stay in, so we can both focus on finding our place. When we have…then we'll rebuild together, all right?"

Ruby knew that Weiss was holding strong for her. The way she stood was too firm, her eyes were too steady and her jaw was clenched too tightly. Once again, Weiss was being strong enough for the both of them.

It was time for Ruby to hold up her end.

"All right," Ruby said with a shaky breath before reaching up and grabbing Weiss' hand with her own and squeezing it. She found herself looking back at the bed they'd shared together. "Do you…should I—"

"Winter has agreed to let me stay with her tonight." Weiss sounded as upset as Ruby felt, but she nodded and held it in as best she could. "I'll come help you pack first thing in the morning."

"Thank you," Ruby said before she suddenly tasted salty tears on her lips.

Weiss smiled brilliantly at her before stepping up on her tiptoes to give Ruby a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Ruby." A moment later, Weiss had picked up a few items and left Ruby to the lonely silence of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry...


	8. JNPR

"This is silly," Pyrrha said as she sat at the small table in the lobby of the hotel room with Jaune.

Silly was the appropriate word – she felt silly and knew she looked silly. In order to draw as little attention to herself as possible, Pyrrha had taken to wearing Jaune's very large hooded sweatshirt and a pair of red sweat pants to match. It covered up all of her black markings and the only traces of damage you could see were the faint veins that crawled up her neck and touched just beyond her wrists. Still, she felt weird sitting in this lobby, surrounded by normal people as she and Jaune waited for their teammates to arrive.

It was Jaune's idea, with the big travel day looming, to get this awkward reunion out of the way.

In what could only be described as the most human Pyrrha had felt in years, she was terrified beyond belief. She had no idea what the reception would be like from her two former friends.

"I'm surprised you didn't have one of those." Jaune's voice broke through Pyrrha's thoughts and she glanced up to see him with a spoon in his mouth and staring at her chest.

Glancing down, she saw the Pumpkin Pete's logo blazoned across the sweatshirt she wore and frowned. "I did," she deadpanned." I had four."

"Four!" He nearly fell out of his seat – spoon crashing into the bowl. "I ate fifty boxes of Pumpkin Pete's in a month and sent in all the box tops just for one and you had _four_!"

Pyrrha fought a grin at how worked up he was. "Yes, well I was sent them in the mail. Four sweatshirts, five t-shirts in three different colors. A cap with ears on top of it and shoes with so little traction I think they were more life threatening than any junior battle I had at the time."

When she became the mascot of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes it was a big deal. The warrior girl from Mistral who became a star almost overnight was suddenly on television and everyone wanted to know her.

Well…everyone wanted to claim they knew her – none of them actually cared to learn about who she was.

The sponsorship was neat and she enjoyed the spotlight and attention for a while. When she was still young, it felt like having the world at her fingertips. She traveled all over the kingdom and eventually, all over Remnant. It opened up so many doors for her, the only thing she ever lacked was someone to share it with.

Which brought her to Jaune. One of the few people in the world who didn't recognize her and never expected anything of her. At times, his lack of desire for her was a bit of a curse – but she would always appreciate his ability to look at her and see nothing more than a friend. Even when she wanted more, he never gave less than friendship.

"You had…the cap with the ears! Pyrrha those were so _cool!_ "

This made her chuckle. "They looked ridiculous, Jaune."

"No way! Pumpkin Pete's was everyone's favorite cereal and those commercials were so awesome! I'm jealous – officially jealous of you now for having all the cool merchandise."

"I've had many people be jealous of my combat skills, never of my bunny ear cap."

Jaune gave her a smile that made Pyrrha's stomach flip. "Then clearly you weren't spending time with the right people."

There was no truer statement than that. Team JNPR ruined the rest of the world for Pyrrha. No one would ever compare to her love for them.

"Jaune!" Nora's voice echoed off the walls of the hotel lobby and Pyrrha watched him glance up as the feelings in her stomach shifted from a flutter to a sinking pit. He cast a look at her, meant to be assuring as he stood up and waved them over.

Pyrrha didn't move, just watched as Nora flung herself into Jaune's arms and hugged him. She was in such a hurry that she didn't even notice Pyrrha sitting at the table

"Nora…you're…crushing me." Jaune gasped out before Nora let him go ruffled his hair.

"Look at you! You're so much thicker now! Not in a bad way! You're not _fat_ just…strong! You've put on a lot of muscle!"

Jaune nodded and grabbed his arm that had been trapped in Nora's hug. "R—right…thanks. You look great too and Ren…" Jaune's expression fell as he looked behind Pyrrha to where Ren was standing and she knew immediately that Ren had seen her.

"What's going—what?!" Nora jumped backwards and immediately went into a defensive stance when she saw Pyrrha sitting at the table. "What is this?!" She screamed, sounding incredibly un-Nora-like. "Jaune, what is this?" She demanded.

When something touched Pyrrha's shoulder, she jumped and rose to her feet. Turning quickly, she was suddenly looking into the eyes of Ren who still had a hand on her shoulder. "Pyrrha," he whispered and her eyes were suddenly burning. "I can't…what…" it was rare to see Ren at a loss for words. "How?"

Speaking was hard with how fast her bottom lip was quivering. "I was sent somewhere…awful and turned into a monster. Jaune…he brought me back."

Pyrrha lost her breath when Ren smiled at her. "I always knew your spirit was strong – though it appears I underestimated you all the same."

As the tears spilled down her cheeks, Pyrrha stepped into an embrace with Ren that felt a lot like coming home. He didn't hesitate to hold her – never once flinched when she wrapped her arms around him. It was perfect and warm and he whispered how much he missed her into Pyrrha's ear and she let out a soft sob.

As they broke apart, she wiped at her eyes and turned to hug Nora all the same – however she was met with a scared girl who had taken a step away from her.

"N—Nora?" She asked hesitantly and watched her best friend rapidly shake her head.

"No," Nora said, her arms crossed over her chest – hugging herself. "No…I…you're not you. No…you're not. I was there when you…I was at your funeral. I held your mom when she cried and—your mom! Did you tell her mom about this?" Nora turned on Jaune so fast he nearly fell over. "Jaune!" She screamed at him and he winced.

"No…Nora, I haven't."

"Nora," Pyrrha tried. "I can't see my mother like this…n—not yet." The thought of seeing her family at all, in this condition, seemed impossible. She didn't want them to remember her as this monster.

"No…no, no, no." Nora shook her head and started pacing. "She was so upset, Pyrrha. She cried so much – she screamed and she cried and I held her until she fell asleep. You have to tell her! If you're really alive you have to tell her! I'll tell her!" Nora pulled out her scroll and started tapping on the screen. In a moment of absolute panic, Pyrrha used her semblance to tear the phone from Nora's hand and catch it.

Suddenly, Nora's eyes were looking at her with fear. It was the worst feeling imaginable.

"I—I'm sorry," Pyrrha said and held out Nora's scroll. "I didn't mean to—"

That was when Nora sprinted away from them.

* * *

The one nice thing about being a resurrected former monster without a single item to her name, was that Pyrrha had absolutely nothing to pack for their impending move.

This left her with ample time to track down Nora and try to talk to her.

Of all the things that came with Pyrrha's new existence, a few elevated senses were, by far, the most valuable. While she had no taste buds and food felt like ash in her mouth – she could smell out just about anything. Including the scent of her former partner who still seemed to adore lemon candy as much as she had at Beacon.

Pyrrha tracked the smell through the parking lot and into an alley just behind the hotel. There were a few dumpsters and a fire escape that climbed up the building. That was where Pyrrha found Nora – sitting with her legs hanging off the metal escape and looking as uncertain as Nora Valkyrie had ever looked.

Hesitating, Pyrrha tugged at the sleeves of Jaune's sweatshirt and debated whether or not to actually approach her former teammate. She was, after all, the reason why Nora had run off in tears in the first place.

Still, she couldn't just leave Nora here and Ren had even agreed that she should be the one to seek her out.

Nora looked so beautiful – more so than Pyrrha could have imagined. She was still so powerful – her frame thick and strong, like a powerhouse that could carry all of Remnant on her shoulders if need be. Yet, her features were older – the glasses she wore made her seem grown up and her longer hair trickled down her back exquisitely. So much time had passed since the last time they'd seen one another. Pyrrha wasn't sure how to make her approach.

"You're not as sneaky as you think." Nora said and Pyrrha frowned. "The bright red hair, bunny rabbit sweatshirt and just the fact that you're still super tall kind of make you stand out like a strawberry in a bowl of peas."

Pyrrha smiled. "Only place I ever fit in was with our team."

Casting her head down, orange hair fell over Nora's face. "Yeah, me too." She wiped at her eyes. "You really should tell your momma you're alive, Pyrrha."

Mentions of her mother bit into Pyrrha's heart like the sting of a deathstalker. She had put so much energy into nothing thinking about the life she once had that it was hard to have those memories brought up again. How could she ever explain to her family the things she'd done? The torments she'd endured or the lives she'd taken?

"I'm not the girl I used to be, Nora. I—I'm not her daughter anymore."

Suddenly, Nora leapt from the fire escape and landed right in front of Pyrrha. There was still such a fire in her eyes, a spirit in her expression. She grabbed Pyrrha's shoulders and just…stared at her.

The scrutinizing gaze was extremely unsettling – especially given how uncomfortable Pyrrha was with her new appearance. However, she never faltered under it and let Nora linger as long as need be. Though Pyrrha wasn't sure if Nora was going to hug her or hit her, she just…waited.

"It won't matter," Nora finally said.

Pyrrha furrowed her brow. "It…what?"

Nora shook her head, hair bouncing from side to side. "She won't care! You're her daughter! She will still see you as her daughter, Pyrrha Nikos! You were lucky enough to have that wonderful woman as your mother and she deserves to know that you're okay!" Before Pyrrha could even process what Nora said to her, she was engulfed in a hug.

Suddenly, it was Pyrrha who felt the warmth of tears spilling down her cheeks. She was still all too afraid to really hold Nora, but she let herself be held and cried.

"You…you left me," Nora said before pulling back and poking Pyrrha in the chest. "You left me!"

She could only offer a broken smile. "I'm sorry."

With a huff, Nora blew the hair from her face before putting her hands on either side of Pyrrha's face and kissing her forehead. It was the first such touch Pyrrha had felt in what felt like forever. "You are no longer allowed to make life altering choices without me, do you understand? Next time you go racing off into battle with maidens and monsters, you had _better_ bring me with you!"

She nodded. "Of course."

There was a very serious look in Nora's eyes – one Pyrrha had rarely seen at Beacon. "You're really here?"

The lump in her throat continued to grow. "As much as I possible, I suppose. I don't eat food anymore, or drink anything. I also don't sleep and I'm covered in black veins." She pulled up a sleeve to show her arm to a fascinated Nora. "Not to mention I can smell Grimm when they're nearby and was a subjected weapon for a demonic maniac."

"You can _smell_ Grimm?! What do they smell like? Is it like ashes and dirty feet! I always imagined them smelling like my feet after a long day, but kinda like my feet after a long day but covered in ashes."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes and smiled. "They smell horrible, but nothing compared to your feet."

"Well you're not wrong there," Nora said with pride. "Wow, I really lost it there for a second, didn't I?"

"I imagine seeing me was a bit…jarring."

"It really was. Rennie handled it like a champ though – but he's always been better at the big stuff. I'm here to keep him appreciating the little stuff."

A red eyebrow raised. "So you two are…together?"

Nora practically beamed. "Yep! Finally won him over with my unrelenting charm!"

"That's wonderful, Nora. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks! Me too! Now c'mon, I gotta go let Ren know I'm okay and we gotta get ready for some more traveling!"

Nora's ability to recover was something Pyrrha knew they would all need as this war rolled on.

* * *

"Going by train seems to put us in a bit of a vulnerable circumstance, don't you think?" Pyrrha couldn't help but feel nervous as they all sat for, what they had been told, would be a three-day train ride across the kingdom of Vale, before they reached port to set sail to somewhere new.

Needless to say, Pyrrha was none to thrilled about being so stationary for so long on such a slow moving vehicle.

Especially for someone who couldn't even sleep to pass the time.

To her right, Jaune was pulling things out of his one duffle bag as he settled a pillow onto his lap before putting his scroll on it and opening up a game to play. "Winter seems to think being in the air is too dangerous since Yang was attacked and she's way too scary for me to argue with."

Pyrrha frowned. "Did they tell you where we're going?"

"No, I love team RWBY but you know how they are about stuff – they keep things to themselves." Jaune rolled his eyes and turned to Nora. "You remember how hard it was to get Ruby's mission out of her when she asked for our help. Even after you guys left RNJR it was impossible to make her talk to me."

An empty feeling settled in the pit of Pyrrha's stomach. "R…RNJR?"

"That was the name of the team we formed after Beacon! We were RNJR because JNRR was, apparently, _lame_ but we were not lame considering all the monsters we fought!" Nora spoke so excitedly, Pyrrha watched her throw her hands in the air.

While Pyrrha had no misgivings at the notion that the rest of her team had, in fact, moved on without her. To hear that they'd christened a new team name and replaced her was surprisingly hard to hear. She wasn't angry – it was more of an emptiness that the bond they created meant so much to her and yet for the rest of them, it was only the first part of a much larger story.

"Eventually it was just Jaune and Ruby after Nora and I decided we could no longer handle the journey." Ren chimed in and Pyrrha looked over at Jaune who was gnawing at his lower lip while playing on his scroll. "You never told us the extent of your travels with Ruby, Jaune."

Pyrrha turned to him with strong interest – though he didn't even look up from his game. "A lot of running and sleeping in the dirt."

_Just the two of them..._

"So pretty much the same stuff we were doing!" Nora said with a laugh. "Sleeping in the rain is _awful_."

"I – I'd imagine so," Pyrrha said. "You and Ruby…were by yourselves?" She kept her voice as even as she possibly could. She was merely curious, after all.

"Yeah, for a few years actually. We saw a lot of Remnant and met a lot of really interesting people. It was the adventure of a lifetime until we were…" his words stopped. His thumbs froze on the screen of his game and Pyrrha saw his eyes widen. She watched him swallow sharply and look over at her. "It was a great adventure."

There was so much uncertainty in his voice and after the fog of initial confusion passed – the realization hit her. "Until I started chasing you." The silence that followed answered any question. Pyrrha quickly unlatched her seatbelt and stood up.

"Pyrrha," Jaune tried but she stopped him.

"Just…don't – I need a moment is all. I'm okay."

"I can come—"

"No," she cut Nora off. "It's okay. I'll be right back." She smiled as best she could, though very aware of the veins that were crawling up her neck and how frightening they must look. Everything about her was monstrous – including the past she couldn't erase with a few good team memories.

Pyrrha pulled up her hood as she stumbled through the train car and into the next. The one JNPR was in had very bright light from open curtains and showed the passing trees outside and bustling people inside.

This car was different – the windows were drawn and most of the passengers were sleeping. She didn't recognize any of them. They weren't the only ones on this train which only made things more dangerous because they were all targets and she was still unstable.

She could pretend all she wanted, but every time Ruby was anywhere near her – the traces of her orders tickled in the back of her mind. She didn't want to hurt Ruby. She didn't want to hurt any of them, but years of discipline was hard to break.

As she continued to walk, Pyrrha suddenly felt a solid impact on her shoulder that stopped her.

She'd run into someone.

Looking up, she was met with a pair of red eyes that settled an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. They reminded her of Salem – but this certainly wasn't her master.

No, this was a woman, tall and with a mass of flowing black hair and deep, red eyes. "Sorry, wasn't looking." She said.

Pyrrha shook off the cobwebs and regained her focus. "I—it's alright, I'm afraid I wasn't either."

"Tight quarters for two people not paying attention to where they're going." She made a joke and it made Pyrrha smile just a bit. "I'm afraid I'm a little lost – this is a big train."

"I—I can help you if you need it?" It was near impossible for Pyrrha to not help people – even before she was driven by so much guilt.

However, this woman kindly looked upon her and shook her head. "I appreciate it, but I'm certain now that my family is close by. I'm sure I'll find them in no time."

With that, the woman moved past Pyrrha and into the next car.


	9. What We Were Trained For

Blake knew something was wrong the moment Ruby stepped into their train car. Her head was cast down and she could hear the sniffling as Ruby sat down right next to Yang in her seat.

Of course Yang's radar went off like a fire alarm as she put her scroll down and immediately put an arm on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong, Rubes?"

When Ruby looked up, she had red, puffy eyes and shook her head quickly to try and dispel them. She opened her mouth to say something, but it caught in her throat and that's when Yang gave Blake a very fearful look. Ruby had still felt like a bit of a stranger to Yang at times since they all came back together – five years apart took time to make up for. So to see Ruby here now, so vulnerable and broken, was scary.

Sitting across from them, Blake wasn't entirely sure whether to go over and try and help with the comfort or leave them to have this moment alone. So Blake sat still and decided to let Yang take the lead.

Eventually, as Yang continued to rub her back and brush the tears from her cheeks, Ruby spoke. "W – Weiss and I b – br – broke up."

Blake saw Yang's robotic arm clench the seat beside her, the leather nearly giving in under her grip. This was not good.

"What happened?" She asked, trying as best she could to keep her voice steady and failing miserably.

Ruby must have noticed. "Don't be mad at her." She pleaded and Yang seemed to grip the seat even tighter.

"I'm not mad," she lied, clearly. "Just…tell me what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Ruby explained the situation to both of them and Blake couldn't help but feel a little appreciative when she was included in the conversation. It was silly, but during their time at Beacon, Blake found herself feeling protective over Ruby just as Yang was. There was so much good in their leader yet so much need from Ruby to be a hero that she often forgot to take care of herself. That made it hard not to want to see her safe and secure.

Though the voice in the back of her head told her that Weiss was most likely isolated and trying to deal with this on her own – as she always did.

As Ruby stammered through the breakup and how she knew it was for the best right now, Blake felt her most uncomfortable when Ruby started shaking and openly admitted—

"I think I…need a lot of help, Yang."

Any anger Yang had died as she took in Ruby's word and her expression – those emotions were placed with nothing but worry. "I'll help you with anything, Ruby. You know that."

More tears came and Blake fought her own instincts to run over and hold Ruby. She waited and she listened – just as Yang was.

"I don't…sleep much. Even before Weiss and I – I just…lay in bed at night and I can't shut my mind off. I barely keep food down because I'm stressing out about stuff so much. I've seen so many terrible things and I've watched people die and now you're all here and I worry all the time about something happening to you," she looked to Blake. "All of you and I just…I feel like I'm bad luck. I should have stopped Cinder and I should be better…faster. I should be able to do more but I don't know how to make it better and I just…" her bottom lip was quivering and she stared up at the ceiling to try and stop the tears from streaking down her face. "I don't want to die, Yang. But there are days when…when it feels like it would be easier – and I know that's not okay."

"Oh gosh, Ruby," Yang finally broke and pulled Ruby into her arms – that was when Blake realized she needed to be elsewhere and let them handle this. She stood, and waiting awkwardly for any sort of acknowledgement but refused to butt in on the moment.

Yang held her little sister with such a gentle touch – as if she were afraid of breaking her and in this state, Ruby seemed incredibly fragile. She tucked her knees up onto the seat and curled into Yang's side.

"Shhh, don't cry. It'll be okay – we'll fix it. I promise we'll fix it." Yang could be so tender when she needed to and Blake felt her heart clench with affection as she watched Yang comfort her sister.

Softly, she cleared her throat a drew a pair of lavender eyes up to meet her own and gestured towards the door.

Yang understood her without needing a word and nodded with a weak smile before returning her attention to Ruby.

Blake had a conversation with Sun she needed to stop putting off, but there was one stop she had to make first.

* * *

Winter's small corner of the train was naturally colder than the rest of the cars Blake had passed through. Though Weiss wasn't as fond of the chilly weather anymore, Winter still seemed to enjoy keeping things at a nice, stiff temperature to suit her comforts.

The space itself was exactly as Winter's setup was where they were staying before – organized and efficient. She had a monitor set up on her lap and was frantically typing away, all the while glancing at her scroll and relaying information from one to the other.

Blake looked around at the available sitting areas and found no one else here except Winter. She had hoped to find Weiss to make sure she was okay.

"Is there something I can do for you, Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake straightened her posture, it was hard not to around Winter. "I was looking for Weiss."

This made Winter stop her work. "My sister is currently resting in my private quarters – she did not sleep well last night."

She could only imagine that Weiss had the same bloodshot eyes that Ruby had. "Okay, I – I'll come back later then."

"So you've heard the news?" Winter asked and Blake froze halfway through her exit.

"Yeah, Ruby is with Yang right now. She's pretty shaken up."

Winter nodded slightly. "The end of any relationship is hard – given that this was their first, I imagine it's that much worse." Winter put her monitor aside and crossed her leg, seemingly losing herself in thought. "Do you wish to see her?"

Blake frowned. "I thought you said she was sleeping?"

"I made her go and lie down because she was working herself too hard and trying to shut out her feelings. I imagine she's in her room sending me hateful thoughts at the moment. I also imagine it would be good for her to see a friendly face."

With a nod, Blake moved passed Winter's work station and slid the door to the small, adjoining room open. It was incredibly well kept and smelled of clean linens. Blake was suddenly nostalgic for the laundry room in their Beacon dormitory where they'd spend every other Wednesday night together trying to stay entertained while their clothes and bed sheets washed.

Much like Winter had predicted, Weiss was not asleep and was, in fact, sitting upright on the other end of the bed with her gaze focused out the window as trees whipped by one after the other.

She caught Weiss peeking back for only a moment, but she didn't turn completely or acknowledge Blake's presence.

Still, she didn't tell Blake to leave so that was enough to give Blake reason to proceed.

Weiss looked worn-down, even from behind. Her hair was in a very loose ponytail, one that would never have passed the standards Weiss had on a good day. This was simply meant to keep the hair out of her face. She was wearing a very large, grey shirt and matching blue sweatpants. She looked comfortable, if nothing like herself.

Settling in next to her, Blake took in the same view Weiss was studying and glanced over just enough to see the darkening circles under the eyes of her teammate.

"I take it you've heard." Weiss' voice was scratchy and startled Blake. Even as she spoke, Weiss wouldn't look at her.

"Yeah um…Ruby showed up in Yang and I's compartment. Ruby's with Yang now."

The mention of her name made Weiss cast her head down. "How is she?"

Blake smiled. "How are you?" Weiss looked up at her with annoyance. "Because I think both answers would be the same." Guilt tore through Weiss' expression and Blake quickly put a hand on her back. "You did the right thing, Weiss."

She shook her head – white hair bouncing back and forth. "Breaking Ruby's heart is never right."

"Maybe not, but it was necessary and…she needs time to focus on healing and preparing for what's coming. So do you."

"I need her," Weiss said with a pout.

"Weiss,"

"What?" She shrugged. "I do, I'm not saying I want to take back what happened, I'm simply speaking the truth. Ruby is my favorite person in the entirety of Remnant and I love her dearly." Blake had no idea how to comment on that. While she didn't doubt the words for a second – to hear them made any attempt at comfort much harder. There was no way to sugarcoat the heartbreak Weiss must be feeling. "That being said," Weiss spoke again. "I know I've made the right decision and though it…" she exhaled shakily and wiped at her eyes. "Though it hurts, I simply want Ruby to find peace. Even if it's not with me."

"You just need—" Blake's words were cut short as the train-car suddenly rocked violently, nearly knocking them both off the bed. Weiss rose to her feet and raced to the window. Blake immediately reached for Gambol Shroud on her back and held the grip at the ready.

"Wow," Weiss breathed and took a step back. "There's a pack."

The door opened and Blake turned to see Winter standing behind them, rapier at her side. "What is it?"

Weiss pointed. "It's a whole pack of boarbstusks. There must be a dozen, they're running alongside the train!"

Winter moved around the bed and peered out the window to take in what her sister had seen. Blake chanced a peek as well and sure enough, there was a stampede of Grimm racing alongside the train as fast as they could – ramming into trees and knocking over fences.

Suddenly, one veered towards the train again and they all jumped back as it struck the side, again rocking the entire thing.

"Come on," Winter ordered and made for the exit. Blake and Weiss both hesitated. "Weiss, your rapier is under the bed – arm yourself. There are civilians on this train."

That seemed to set Weiss in motion and Blake drew her own weapon as well.

"How are we going to get to them?" Weiss asked as she pulled her blade free – looking a bit silly in her sweat pants.

Blake knew that going through the train would only startle the civilians even more, the longer they waited the more commotion it would cause – if it hadn't already.

"We should just go through the window. We can fight them from here. We don't have to kill them, just chase them away."

Winter made eye contact with her and nodded. "She's right, there's a bridge coming up and they won't cross the water. We just need to push them back until we reach it." Her sentence was emphasized with another strike to the side of the train. This one even more impactful.

They couldn't wait any longer.

"Fine," Weiss sighed and tightened her ponytail. "I'll go first, I can use my glyphs to stay level and I'll try and veer them off course."

"I'll come with you," Winter said before moving to the window and opening it – the air moving at such a high speed outside was loud and jarring. Blake pinned her ears back as the wind made them burn. The bow was good for some things. "Blake! You hang out the window and keep them away from our glyphs! If they get to close it could shatter and we'll be rolling down the hill!" Winter's voice carried over the moving air outside as Weiss started to climb out the window.

In was a fairly marvelous sight to watch Weiss Schnee leap out of a moving train without a second thought, only to float into the air with a glyph beneath her feet.

The boarbatusks veered towards her and she quickly jumped, dropping a black glyph on the ground that made a very loud cracking noise when one of them touched it and suddenly the pack stumbled a bit before regaining their pace. If anything, it kept them away from Weiss.

Winter followed her out a moment later, a bit more dramatically as she climbed to the top of the train before leaping off with a flourish of dust that spiked out towards the pack and scattered them slightly.

With only one foot, Winter planted onto a glyph and started stacking them like stairs as she gained height to throw down sparks of dust in an attempt to deviate the pack into the forest.

Blake was fairly certain that Winter wasn't too worried about her own well being, she was too high up to be threatened. Weiss however, was leaping from glyph to glyph and with each time she landed, it took her a moment to throw a strike.

Stepping up on the windowsill, Blake grabbed into the metal bar that the curtain hung from and used it to keep herself steady as she leaned up. Gambol Shroud fired a shot at a charging Grimm that came close to Weiss. She smacked it right between the eyes, sending it stumbling away before it regained its balance and moved again.

As they continued to move along, Blake did notice that the pack was being chased further and further away from the train. The Schnee sisters would doing what they intended to do and Winter was doing the most damage from her distance. Chasing them away with well placed shots, but they were damn persistent and Weiss was struggling to keep up. They hadn't done much fighting in the last few months, their skills were not sharp and Blake could even tell by the strain in her arm and the accuracy of her shots.

Wherever they were going, they needed some serious training.

Still, it seemed as if they might be about to clear them away enough to make the train without worry – until Weiss had two coming at her and only managed to take one. Instead, the other raced right by her and Blake heard her name cried out far too late.

It struck the side of the train with thunder and Blake's foot slipped out from underneath of her as she tumbled out the window.

Somehow, she managed to grab onto the windowsill – her legs hanging dangerously close to the rapidly moving tracks as she held on with all she had. Gambol Shroud had tied itself around her wrist, but she could hear it scraping across the ground, no doubt doing serious damage. Her fingers strained to pull her up as she struggled when suddenly something seized her foot.

Looking down, she had a boarbutusk tusk hooked around her ankle, pulling her away. Her grip was weakening and she kicked with all she had. Everything she'd gone through and she was going to die on a train by one damn Grimm. It felt so wrong.

"Weiss!" She cried out, her voice sounding unfamiliar and terrified. She didn't want to die now – she had so much in her life.

"Blake!" Weiss' voice was closer than it had been before, but not nearly close enough. Blake could feel her fingers giving way.

"No!" She screamed as her grip broke but just as she expected to feel the impact of the ground, she was suddenly floating.

Looking up, there was nothing but golden hair flapping in the wind and one solid, metal arm holding onto her wrist.

Through it all, Yang smiled. "Climb me!" She shouted and just as Blake pulled herself in, a ringing shot from a rifle blasted beside Yang.

Once Blake was deep enough into the train and Yang was pulling her in, she saw Ruby standing with Crescent Rose drawn, tear tracks still on her cheeks, firing shots out the window and picking off Grimm that ran along Weiss.

"Get inside!" Winter's voice sounded from above, almost booming like a megaphone and Blake steadied herself, clinging to Yang as her heart raced and the world vibrated. She was going to throw up, not right now, but soon enough.

Instead she pulled her damaged weapon up to her chest and watched as Ruby continued to fire beside them while Weiss bounded towards the window at her sister's instruction.

Just as she drew close enough, Grimm hot on her heels, Weiss stumbled and her glyph started to fade.

"Jump!" Ruby shouted, dropping her scythe to the ground and stepping towards the window.

Without hesitating, Weiss leapt off her glyph and for the window.

In a flash, Ruby turned into a spiral of red and suddenly merged with Weiss in midair as a matching whirlwind of petals and snowflakes. They hung in the air for only a moment before sliding back through the window side by side, Weiss clutching her arms around Ruby's neck and looking like she'd just ridden the scariest ride at the Vytal Festival.

The pair pulled apart awkwardly and Weiss gave a very soft thank you before stepping back to the window to check on her sister. Ruby seemed to recoil into herself a bit, but didn't leave.

A sudden thump above them was Winter landing on the roof of the train and they all gathered at the window to watch.

The boarbatusks were still coming strong, but the bridge was near.

As they approached the water, it started to move more so than it ever should and Blake could feel the energy of it shifting. It started to glow white, like a light was shining at the depths and blazing towards the sky.

There were still four Grimm near the train and as the drop off to the water approached, they drove in towards the train again. Blake winced, preparing for more impact. Instead, a massive, shimmering white crocodile emerged from the water and started thrashing them along the shore. The Grimm squealed and whined as they were torn to pieces by this enormous reptile that Winter had summoned.

Blake could only watch it awe as it devoured them and once they reached the bridge, the sight moved beyond what they could see. Though Yang leaned out the window to continue watching, Blake could only clench her still shaking fists and wonder if all of that had really just happened.

A sudden pair of feet came through the window and Yang moved away as Winter glided inside and landed gracefully as possible before dusting off her jacket as if nothing had happened.

"Are you all right?" She asked and it was only after the following silence that Blake realized the question was directed at her.

Glancing up, she nodded. "Y—yes, I'm fine." She pulled up Gambol Shroud and saw that the blade had cracked and sighed. "B—better than my weapon."

Winter nodded, surveying the damage. "We can fix that when we arrive at our destination. You two heard the fighting?"

"The whole train shook," Yang said as she gently touched Blake's back – only when she felt the comforting presence did she realize she'd been quivering so much. "I just…had a feeling you guys needed help."

Blake felt a sudden urge to kiss Yang, to grab her by the hand and lead her to the first quiet place they could find and ravage her. Yang had arrived without a moment to spare and saved her. It was a gesture she was insistent on repaying.

For now, all she could do was shift closer to Yang and press their hips together.

The gorilla in the room was the fact that Ruby had backed into a corner with her head down and Weiss was looking everywhere but at the girl who'd leapt out of a train to pull her back inside.

Thankfully, Winter had no time for their hormones. "We should go and inform the staff that it's been dealt with."

Ruby left first, probably thankful for the opening and as Blake followed Yang out, she heard Weiss ask her sister.

"Where in the world did you kill that thing?"

"During a horrendous recon mission in Menagerie, I'll take you to the place when we get there."

_When we get there._

Blake hadn't asked where they were going and Winter hadn't been very forthcoming about it. She assumed it would be another base or safe house. Winter had contacts all over Remnant.

Menagerie? That was…impossible.

Perhaps it was the combination of the fight and the scare from almost dying, coupled with the news of Menagerie, but Blake was suddenly having trouble breathing. She clung to Yang for dear life, losing the ability to put one leg in front of the other – she slipped.

"Whoa," Yang held her up. "You okay there, Blake?" She felt a finger dip under her chin and lift her head. By the time she met Yang's eyes, her own vision was starting to go white along the edges. "Okay, definitely not – Winter?" Yang's voice rose in a panic. "You have triage training I assume?" Winter nodded and shuffled up next to them. "What's wrong with her?"

Suddenly she was face to face with Winter Schnee's cold blue eyes and she could hear the rest of her team speaking but it sounded more like a dream – as if they were a hundred yards away from her.

She was shaking, she couldn't stop shaking and it was scaring her.

Eventually, Winter shook her head. "She's having a panic attack – we need to find a place for her to lie down."

A moment later, Blake was scooped up into Yang's arms and carried away.

* * *

Blake found herself sitting on a hard bathroom floor with her head in her hands. The only thing that reminded her she was on a train at all was the steady rocking and ambient sounds of the track beneath her. It was comforting and helped steady her and slow the world down.

This was the first time she'd ever had a panic attack and if she were being honest, she absolutely hated it. She could breathe a little easier and when she finally lifted her head, she was met with the soft smile of her partner who was sitting across from her – their toes touching.

"Better?"

She wasn't entirely sure. She didn't want to get up or really move at all, but she could take slow breaths and her heart wasn't hammering in her chest. "I think so."

Yang nodded. "Good. Now if I can just be around Weiss during a breakdown I'll be three for three." There was a witty retort left hanging, but Blake was too tired to take it. "You want to tell me what that was all about? You've almost died before – didn't shake you like that."

Blake looked up and saw no judgment in Yang's eyes, only curiosity and worry. She found comfort in that acceptance, even if it wasn't necessary. "It was scary but that's…not what this is about."

"Okay," Yang seemed a bit relieved at that and Blake understood. Going into a fight – which they were headed for eventually – it was never good to have a partner with fear licking at the back of their neck. "Is this one of those times where you don't want to share?" She asked with a smile but Blake knew she meant it. Back at Beacon, Blake had a tendency of keeping her past to herself.

This was, in fact, one of those situations where hiding her past was catching up with her yet again.

"I…might not have been entirely honest about my past." The words were terrifying to speak and she half expected Yang to groan in disgust.

Instead, she was met with silence and a steady gaze.

Blake continued. "Winter said we're going to Menagerie…that's my home, Yang."

"Oh," she could see those violet eyes light up with recognition. Truth be told, it was one of her favorite sights in this world. "I—I'm sorry…I know that must be hard for you with your parents and…" Yang stopped and bit her lip. "Have you need been there since they died?"

Blake winced and hugged herself even tighter. "They…" she felt the tears trickling down her cheeks and cursed them. "They're not dead, Yang. My parents are still very much alive and living in Menagerie."

She cheated a look up to see an even more shocked expression on Yang's face. "They're…what? I thought they were dead?"

"No, I just talked about them like they were. Because for a long time I just…figured they were dead to me."

Yang exhaled and put ran a hand through her hair as she nodded to try and process. Eventually, she found Blake's eyes again. "Are they…bad people? Did you run from them?"

"No!" Blake became way more defensive of them than she expected. "No, they're wonderful people. I mean it, they're amazing and I…I was bad, Yang. I was the bad one. I was rotten and awful and I don't deserve to see them again." Blake felt the tightness returning to her chest and suddenly she was being wrapped up in Yang's arms again.

"Easy, Blake…take a breath." Yang laughed softly and stroked Blake's neck. "It's alright, it's just you and me right now, okay? Nobody else is here, just us and I won't judge you."

Blake found herself clinging to Yang – something she'd taught herself never to do through years of struggle. She never wanted to be reliant on anyone but she _needed_ Yang's comfort. As she settled into Yang's embrace, she was suddenly tucked between Yang's legs.

"My father…he was the leader of the White Fang. He was a good leader with good rules and I…I was with Adam and he and Adam clashed a lot. Adam wanted results that we couldn't get with my father's ways and I was dumb enough to believe that Adam was right. That pushing back with ill intent was the right way and it wasn't. I had a big fight with my dad and I told him…" she winced as the memory came screaming back. She could hear him raising his voice at her – something he never did. Worse, she could hear herself screaming back. Those vile words she said. "I told him that he'd be the death of our people. That he was a failure." A cool, steel finger wiped a tear from her eye. "I went to Adam that night and the next day my father stepped down as chief. It was all a mess from there and the only time I ever communicated with them was a letter I sent telling them I was going to Beacon. It's been _years,_ Yang – and my last communication was a letter. I didn't even go to them after Beacon fell."

Silence fell over the room as Yang continued to hold her and comfort her as best she could. For a moment, Blake almost lost herself to the exhaustion and faded into sleep. Just before she could, Yang's voice broke through.

"Do you want to see them again?" Blake expected the question and nodded against Yang's chest. "But you're scared?" Another nod. "Okay, well then I guess I'll just have to go with you."

"Yang, you don't—"

"Blake," Yang cut her off as Blake started to move away. She held her firmly and smiled. "I love you. I love you more than my own life. Your battles…they're my battles. Your jacked up family history…that's mine now too. I want to be there. I want to help you through it and I want you to know that no matter how it goes…I'll be here for you when the dust settles."

There were a million things Blake felt like she could say, perhaps should say, but they all felt meaningless as she stared up at Yang. This girl who she'd found in the woods years ago that had somehow broken through all her barriers and found the girl she'd wanted to be her whole life. Someone who felt protected and wanted and special. Nobody made Blake feel more special than Yang did.

There was only one proper response.

"I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of fun to write. This fic needed more action and there will probably be even more coming soon. Anyway, let me know what you thought?


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